


Forever Love

by sailorspazz



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Character Bashing, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-11-21
Updated: 2002-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8832673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorspazz/pseuds/sailorspazz
Summary: The end of the war has finally arrived. How will Heero and Duo deal with their feelings at this highly emotional time? Heero/Duo pairing, some angst, some humor, not for Relena lovers.





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Uh oh, what am I up to now? Heh heh, it's more fan-fiction from the Spazz! Aren't you glad? This is only my second fan-fic, and it's my first Gundam Wing ficcy, so beware! I've been wanting to do a shounen ai fic about Heero and Duo for a while now, but I wanted to finish my first fan-fic before I started this one. My first fic was a Sailor Moon villain fic called "Bishounen no Mori." For anyone who's read that, I'm sorry! Uhh, I mean this fan-fic should be more serious... _should_ be, although, knowing myself, there will probably be many silly scenes :P I can't help it! And, yes, I know there are already a million Heero and Duo fan-fics, but I just couldn't stop myself from writing about them ^_^;; They're _soooo_ adorable! Ack, this was supposed to be the disclaimer -_-;; Uh, so the point is, none of these characters are mine, and this fan-fic contains _Live!_ and _Active!_ cultures, and is not Y2K compliant, so beware!

Comments/Author Notes/etc.: OK, now for the section that's actually _supposed_ to be for my dumb comments ^_^;; The title comes from the ending theme song from the X movie...no, this is not a crossover with X, and it's not a song fic, either, but the song _will_ come up later in the fic ^_^ This fic begins near the end of episode 49, right after Zechs blows himself up and Wufei gives Heero his Buster Rifle back (Sorry if that's a spoiler ^_^;;). So, I guess you might need a pretty good understanding of how the TV series ends to understand everything going on in the fic...but once the story goes on farther and gets into the lovey dovey stuff, it won't really matter ^_^ So, enough of my babbling, enjoy the fic!

Erg, since I'm weird and this is a Gundam Wing fan-fic, instead of writing "Completed on (insert date here)", I'm going to use "Mission Completed": (insert date here). Sorry...The strangest things entertain me -_-;;

Mission Completed: 1999.11.21

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_AC 195 Christmas Eve_

"Mission acknowledged," Heero said as Wufei tossed him his Buster Rifle. Now that Treize was dead, and Zechs had been caught in the explosion of a chunk of the Libra and had supposedly died too, there was only one thing left to do to finally end the war that had been causing him pain and suffering for nearly his entire life. It was hard for Heero to believe that the end could be so near, and he briefly wondered what life would be like after the war ended...after all, the only life he'd ever known had been one of fighting. It was hard to imagine what he'd do when it was all over...

But there was no time for daydreaming. Heero had an important mission: Blow up the piece of the Libra that was currently hurtling towards the Earth. _And besides,_ he thought, scolding himself as he sped up Wing Zero to get ahead of the Libra, _there's no guarantee that I'll live through this, anyway._ If he couldn't blow up the Libra with his rifle, the only other option was to self-destruct and hope that the blast from that would be enough to destroy it.

The piece of the Libra entered the Earth's atmosphere, with Heero right ahead of it. Once he figured he was at a safe distance, he turned around to try to zero in on his target. Unfortunately, the Earth's atmosphere was doing severe damage to Wing Zero. The target aimer was shaking so badly he couldn't lock on. As chunks of Wing Zero began to fly off, Heero tried to focus harder...he'd come this far, he couldn't die now!

"I..." He thought of everything he'd worked for...all the effort he'd put into his Gundam, all the training he'd done, all the people—innocent or not—he'd killed over the years.

"I..." He thought of the little girl and her puppy, how his accidental murdering of Noventa had broken any trust left between the colonies and the Earth, all the people he'd wanted to save, his friends...

Friends?

"I..." Yes, he admitted to himself, the other Gundam pilots were his friends. He remembered how hard all of them had worked for peace, he remembered the brief moments they'd had trying to act like normal teenagers, and he thought of one in particular...

Duo...

"I won't die!"

Heero finally locked on to the Libra. He fired with all of his might, putting in as much power as he could, still holding an image of Duo in his mind...

There was a huge explosion, much larger than Heero had expected, and he was engulfed in the light from the blast. Luckily, he was far enough away from the Libra that the explosion did no more damage to Wing Zero. As the light began to fade, he flew back up into space where the others were waiting for him.

Finally, he might have a chance at a normal life...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The other four Gundam pilots watched half-nervously and half-excitedly as Wing Zero tore through Earth's atmosphere, barely ahead of the Libra.

 _Dammit, this is an impossible mission!_ Duo thought to himself, gritting his teeth, then let out a sigh and chuckled. _Which is why Heero's the one doing it, I suppose._ During the few months Duo had known Heero, he'd learned to expect the unexpected from him. He'd found out that for Heero, nothing was impossible.

And, during that short time, he'd found himself falling in love with the suicidal Wing Zero pilot. He didn't know why or how, it had just happened. He sighed again. _You're such an idiot!_ he told himself. He looked at his screen and saw two streaks shooting through the atmosphere. Duo clasped his hands in prayer to the real god of death. He whispered softly, "Please, Grim Reaper, don't take him away yet..." He jerked his head up when he heard a loud explosion. He looked at his screen again and his heart sank when he didn't see Heero. Seconds later, however, he saw the outline of Wing Zero emerging from the light. Duo breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't stop himself from shouting. "Here he comes!" Duo had never felt more relieved in his life. His grin nearly cracked his face open. "You did it, Heero!" He registered the other three pilots giving their congratulations, but he wasn't really paying attention, as he was in a state of mind-numbing happiness and relief.

Heero's monotonous voice crackled through the line. "Mission...completed." Duo sweatdropped. Heero had just ended the war that had been controlling the course of their lives for years, and what were his first words? Not a yell for victory, not "I'm number one!", not even a laugh, just "mission completed." He dropped his head and chuckled again. That was Heero, all right, always the Perfect Soldier. He was about to comment on how Heero wasn't a normal human being when the other pilot switched his Gundam into Bird Mode and flew off.

"Hey, where's he going?" Duo asked.

"I think he's going to MO-II," Quatre said.

"Oh yeah, I guess we should go there, too...I need to check on Hilde," Duo said. After the Peacemillion rammed into the Libra, they'd been told that all of the patients in the Peacemillion's medical facilities had been transferred to MO-II. He and the other pilots took off after Heero.

A few minutes later, they reached the unloading dock of MO-II. As they had thought, Wing Zero was already there. They weren't sure which way Heero had gone until they heard people shouting in a celebratory manner. They followed the voices and found that the source was the control room. There were so many people crowded into the large room that they couldn't find Heero at first. Duo tried to shove his way through.

"Hey, kid, watch who you're pushing...Hey, wait, you're one of the other pilots." The man Duo bumped into began to yell to everyone else in the room. "Hey, everyone, the other pilots are here!" Everyone looked at them and parted to form a pathway for them. They all cheered and applauded as they walked through.

Duo smiled and waved as he walked, but on the inside, he was wondering how he would react when he saw Heero. With the way he was feeling, he knew it would take a lot to control himself. He finally caught sight of Heero and his stomach turned in knots. It would take all his willpower not to run over, throw his arms around Heero, and kiss him passionately right in front of everyone. He started losing control and was about to do it, when...

"Heeee~~~~eeeroooo!" Apparently, a certain pink streak that flew by had the same idea...well, the first part, anyway. Relena suddenly ran up and threw her arms around Heero's waist. "I'm soooo glad you're all right!" Tears started streaming down her face.

 _Sheesh, talk about melodramatic..._ Duo sweatdropped and shrugged. Oh well, now he didn't have to worry about making an ass of himself in front of everyone. He and the other three pilots walked up to where an uncomfortable-looking Heero was standing. "Yo, Heero." Duo grinned at Heero, who actually gave him a tiny smile in reply. Heero then looked down at Relena, who was sobbing into his Astro Suit, then back up at Duo, a silent plea to help him get rid of her. Duo tapped Relena on the shoulder. "Good evening, Missy."

Relena looked up and seemed to notice for the first time that other people were in the room. She pulled herself together enough to stop crying, then attached herself to Heero's arm. "Good evening."

Duo turned his attention back to Heero. "Hey, Heero, thanks for saving all our asses today." He grinned and clapped Heero on the shoulder. "We really appreciate someone finally ending this crazy war."

"Yes, thank you very much, Heero," Quatre said, being polite as always. "Without you, we never could have done this."

"Hn," was all that Heero said in reply, but the other pilots had known him long enough to know that this was his way of saying, 'You're welcome.'

Duo looked at Heero again and smiled. _Looks like winning the war hasn't changed Heero at all..._ Duo was suddenly struck by the thought of how things _could_ be different now. Would the other pilots change? Would Heero change? Would _he_ change? He hadn't known what the others had been like before they'd started fighting in the war together...would they quickly go back to the way they were before he knew them, or would the emotional effects of the war be long lasting?

As Duo pondered these things, he didn't realize he'd spaced out while staring at Heero, but Heero soon felt his eyes and looked toward him. Heero could tell that Duo was daydreaming and wasn't really looking at him, but he was still captivated by Duo's eyes...two shimmering orbs that reminded him of the Milky Way with their swirling violets, and pupils like black holes that were sucking him into their interior. He couldn't look away and, a small part of his mind admitted, he didn't _want_ to. Suddenly, Duo's eyes lost that distant, far-off look and he was staring right back at Heero. Neither one could look away. They both felt like there was no one in the room but them; the other people had gone out of focus, and their voices became nothing more than soft murmurs...

One sharp, high-pitched voice, however, managed to rise above that murmuring level. "Heero. Heero! Did you hear what Quatre just said?" Relena said, tugging at Heero's arm.

Heero broke his gaze away from Duo's and gave Relena an annoyed glare. "What?"

Relena ignored Heero's irritation. "He said that you five should go visit Duo's friend Hilde."

"Because we still haven't had the chance to thank her properly," Quatre added.

"Oh yeah, I guess I should go check on her..." Duo said, his heart still pounding from staring into Heero's eyes for so long. "Let's go." Most of the other people in the room were "celebrating with a few refreshments" (In other words, getting drunk off their asses), so no one seemed to mind that they were leaving. They were almost out the door before anyone noticed them.

"Oh, Miss Relena, wait!" The person who finally spotted them was Lady Une.

They all turned around. "Yes?"

"We need you to make the official announcement of the end of the war to the people of Earth and the colonies."

Relena sighed. "Can't I do that later? I need to show the pilots to Hilde's room so they can thank her. I'm pretty sure that most people think the war is already over, anyway."

"Oh, I'm sure we can find the way on our own," Duo said, earning a glare from Relena. He knew she was just looking for an excuse to keep hanging all over Heero, and he certainly wasn't going to let her have one if he could help it.

"Miss Relena, this really must be done as soon as possible."

Relena sighed again, making Duo feel like smacking her. "All right." She let go of Heero's arm. "I'll come find you later." It could have been a statement to all of them, but she was looking right at Heero, and the way she said it reminded him of all the times she'd followed him during his missions. She made a movement like she was going to lean up and kiss him goodbye, but Heero swiftly turned around and left the room with the other pilots.

After wandering around a bit, they finally found the medical facilities of MO-II, and one of the nurses directed them to Hilde's room. Duo slowly opened the door and walked over to the bed, leaving everyone else hanging in the doorway.

"Hey, Hilde," Duo said quietly, "You awake?"

Hilde heard a familiar voice saying her name. "Mmm, wha...?" She slowly opened her eyes and found two violet ones staring back at her. "Duo?"

"Hey, at least you don't have amnesia!" Duo grinned and sat down on a chair next to the bed. "I'm glad you're all right, Hilde."

"Where am I?" Hilde asked, looking slightly confused.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you wouldn't remember, huh? Do you remember that data disk you gave me?" Hilde nodded. "Well, after you gave me that, you passed out from your injuries and got taken to the medical facilities of the Peacemillion. Soon after that, the Peacemillion rammed into the Libra and you were transferred here, to MO-II."

"Oh..." Hilde looked around the room and noticed a bunch of strangers standing in the doorway. She lifted the arm that didn't have an IV tube sticking out of it and pointed. "Duo, who are those people?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to introduce everyone!" Duo slapped himself on the forehead. "Come on in, guys!" The other pilots entered the room. "Hilde, these are the other four Gundam Pilots." He pointed to each of them as he introduced them. "Chang Wufei, Quatre Raberba Winner, Trowa Barton and Heero Yuy."

Hilde looked at the other pilots. "Nice to meet you all. I've heard Duo talk about you guys a lot..." Hilde managed a weak smile. "I kind of feel like I already know you guys...especially Heero. Duo talked about Heero more than all the rest of you combined."

Heero looked at Duo, who put his hand behind his head and blushed. "Eh heh heh, well, you know, Heero's just so, uh, different and, uh..." Duo caught Heero looking at him and he stopped trying to explain. Heero wondered what it meant that Duo talked about him so much...he knew that Duo rarely shut up, but why did he talk about _him_ more than anyone else?

Quatre broke the uncomfortable silence (A rare occurrence with Duo in the room). "Hilde, we wanted to come see you so we could thank you for getting that data to us. It was very kind of you to do that...Thank you very much." He bowed slightly.

Hilde blushed a little. "Oh, don't mention it. I wanted this war to be over as soon as possible, so I wanted to do anything I could to help, even if it meant risking my own life."

"I hope there's some way we can repay you."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary."

Duo leaned over to Hilde and stage whispered to her, "Hey, you should've asked for a reward! Quatre's rich!"

Hilde laughed and tried to scold him. "Duo!"

As Heero watched the two joking and laughing, he felt some strange kind of anger, an anger he could feel in the pit of his stomach...and his heart. When he saw Duo and Hilde together, he just wanted her to get _away_ from him...what could it be? Heero suddenly realized he had discovered jealousy. But why? He and Duo weren't...Heero tried to derail that train of thought, but his mind taunted him. They weren't what? They weren't lovers like Heero had dreamed and fantasized about practically since he'd met the longhaired pilot? Even though Heero had often wished he and Duo were more than friends, he'd always restrained himself from doing anything stupid. He'd remind himself that they were in the middle of a war and it just wouldn't be smart to start anything with Duo; there was too much of a risk that they'd get too involved with each other and stop concentrating on their missions. However, the war was over now. There was no need to worry about concentrating on missions. Heero wasn't sure what to do about what he felt.

As Heero wondered about these things, the former Queen of the World walked into the room. Heero was jerked out of his thoughts when she attached herself to his arm again. "Hello, Heero."

Heero muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say?" Relena asked.

"I said 'hello,' too," Heero said coolly. From across the room, Duo snickered. He hadn't heard what Heero had actually said, but from reading his lips, he could tell that Heero had definitely not said 'hello.'

Relena ignored Duo and continued. "I came here to tell you that I've made reservations for all of you at a luxury resort in the L-1 colony cluster. There are plenty of things for you to do on the colony, and tomorrow there's going to be a party to celebrate Christmas and the end of the war, at which you five will be the guests of honor. A week from now, there will be a New Year's party, and the people on the colony organizing the event hope that one or all of you will present a short speech about your experiences in the past year."

"We'd be honored to," Quatre spoke up. "It's so nice of you to do this for us."

"You guys are all heroes. You deserve a vacation, and I am honored to be the one to provide one for you."

"Sounds great," Duo said, bouncing to his feet. "When do we leave?"

"There is a shuttle ready to take off whenever you are."

"All right, let's go!" Duo turned to Hilde. "I hope you get better soon."

Hilde smiled at Duo. "I'll try my best."

"That's the spirit!" Duo grinned. "Well, off we go. Bye bye!"

Everyone waved goodbye to Hilde and went to where the shuttle was waiting for them.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Whoooooa, this place is HUGE!" Duo exclaimed upon reaching the resort. "I've never been anywhere like this!"

The six of them stood in front of the huge arching entrance of the resort Relena had picked for them. It sat on many acres of the best land you could find on a colony, with large trees and sloping hills covered in snow surrounding it. Even though the landscape was artificial, it was still breathtaking. The resort itself was pretty amazing in its own right. As they walked through the large, intricately designed wooden doors, they were greeted by several men in tuxedos who took their luggage. All the boys had for luggage were their ratty knapsacks filled with the basic necessities they had taken with them on the Peacemillion, but the men treated them as if they were handling the fragile luggage of royalty. After their bags were taken, they were approached by a woman who bowed to them and led them to an elevator. They were taken up several floors and when they got off the elevator, the six men who had taken their luggage were waiting for them. Each of them was led into the room where their luggage had been taken. They occupied six rooms, three on each side of the hallway. After Relena tipped the men, they gave them their keys, bowed and left.

"Whoa, talk about efficiency!" Duo said. The six of them were standing in the hall outside their rooms. "It's kind of like being taken into jail, only not against our will, and these rooms are a helluva lot nicer than any jail cell." Duo took a peek into his room, which was on one side of Heero's room (Not surprisingly, Relena's room was on the other side). "Wow, this is bigger than most of the houses I've lived in!" Everyone smiled and sweatdropped a little watching Duo 'ooh' and 'ahh' over everything in sight.

"Well, I have a meeting to attend," Relena said. "You five are free to look around the resort or go anywhere on the colony. I'll be back later."

After Relena was gone, Quatre said, "So, what does everyone want to do?"

Duo grinned. "Let's go have some fun!"

To be continued...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater!

Spazz: Waagh, I finally finished the first part of this! *Looks at her Chibi Gundam boys in Sailor Senshi outfits* Is it all right?

Chibi Heero: I'll kill you.

Chibi Duo: *Munches on computer* Needs salt...and lemon. *wink*

Spazz: *Sweatdrop* I can't write lemon! Do you have any idea how much I would blush as I wrote it? I probably wouldn't even be able to look at the screen!

Chibi Duo: Well, when do Heero and I get to shag, baby?

Spazz: *Sigh* I knew I shouldn't have let them watch Austin Powers...You're Chibi Duo and you're not a part of the fic. You can shag whenever you want.

Chibi Duo: Sweet. *Jumps Chibi-Heero* *Gyu gyu*

Spazz: Umm, anyway...do the rest of you like my fic?

Chibi Trowa: ...

Chibi Quatre: Yes.

Chibi Wufei: Hn. Stupid woman.

Spazz: Those are just the answers I was expecting...for some _unexpected_ answers, the readers should leave reviews to tell me what they think.

Chibi Duo: *Looks up from...uhh, what he was doing with Chibi Heero ^_^;; (Told you I can't write lemon!)* Hey, are you saying our opinions don't matter?

Spazz: Ummm...yeah. I'm writing what you do and say.

Chibi Duo: Grrr...*Turns to Chibi Heero* Heero?

Chibi Heero: What?

Chibi Duo: I have a mission for you. *whispers something in his ear*

Chibi Heero: Mission acknowledged. *Turns to Spazz*

Spazz: *Sweatdrop* Uhh, nice Chibi Heero...down, Chibi Heero. *Chibi Heero pounces* Eeeeeek!

*This part ends with Spazz being ripped to shreds by Chibi Heero...be sure to tune in next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Eh heh heh, the time has come again! It's time for the second part of this fan-fic! Beware!

Disclaimer: Characters 'n' stuff are not mine, yadda yadda blah blah etc. (My disclaimers are sooo thorough, aren't they? ^_^;;).

Mission Completed: 2000.02.08

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Heero began to sweat as his hands moved frantically over the controls. He spotted two enemies approaching swiftly behind him. At the moment, he could only run until he found an opportunity to attack. He moved to the left, then to the right...now! He turned around and quickly took out his pursuers. But he was not in the clear yet. Suddenly, the tables were turned and Heero found himself running away again from more new enemies. He searched for an escape route, but they were coming from all sides. Heero looked for a way to attack them, but there was no nearby ammo. He could do nothing as his enemies came closer and closer and finally...

Heero was eaten.

"Shit!" Heero pounded his fists on the arcade console as the screen flashed 'Game Over.' "If I'd been able to self-destruct, I could've taken them out!"

Duo sweatdropped. "Uh, Heero, I don't think there's a self-destruct option in Pac Man..."

Heero hmphed. "Well, there should be. What do they expect you to do when enemies are coming at you from all sides?"

"I think they expect you to realize it's just a game..."

"Hn. They should make the game more realistic."

Duo sweatdropped again, beginning to think maybe it hadn't been the best idea to have taken Heero to an arcade. When they had played Ski Ball earlier, Heero had thrown the balls too hard and too wildly and ended up breaking the scoreboard somehow. He'd then claimed all the fighting games were unrealistic and needed to have self-destruct options. And then, when they played Whack-a-Mole, Heero had whacked the moles so hard that it was doubtful they would ever rise from their holes again.

But still, even considering all of that, Duo was having a good time with Heero. Earlier, they'd been with the other three pilots looking for someplace to go, but since it was Christmas Eve, not many places were open. They finally decided to go back to the resort to see what there was to do there. After they all had something to eat at one of the restaurants (Apparently, Relena had arranged for all their meals at the resort to be free), they split up into groups: Duo and Heero, Trowa and Quatre, and Wufei went off somewhere by himself.

Duo had decided to take Heero to the resort arcade, though he was beginning to question the logic of doing so. But even though Heero was causing a lot of trouble, Duo still enjoyed just being around him. After all, they were the only two people in the arcade, so it was unlikely that Heero would actually hurt anyone with his unruly actions. Duo grinned. Being alone with Heero like this almost made it feel as if they were on a date. Duo shook his head and smiled as he watched Heero deposit some coins into a pinball machine. If he told Heero that, he'd probably get a punch in the face. Duo thought hard for a second and reconsidered. Actually, he really had no idea _what_ Heero would do. Heero's actions as of late were really confusing to Duo. He remembered earlier that day when he and Heero's eyes had locked and they had just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. But then he also remembered Heero's reaction earlier when he'd told him that Hilde had seen Relena while she was stealing data from the Libra. He couldn't forget the way he'd said her name when he mentioned it to him, a shocked, urgent-sounding one word question: 'Relena?!' It had actually caused Duo to pause before he continued talking. It was because of these and other conflicting signals that Duo had no idea how Heero felt about him.

"Shit!" Heero pounded his fists again, leaving small cracks in the glass of the pinball machine. "This game is fixed! There's no way you can win!"

Duo sighed. "Heeeeero, you're not supposed to _win_ , you're just supposed to try and get a high score."

"What's the point in that? This game doesn't even give out tickets. Why would you do something when you know you'll get nothing out of it?"

"It's supposed to be _fun_ , Heero." Duo's voice became softer and he smiled sadly. "And if you're going to ask why you should do something when you get nothing out of it, you might as well be asking why we even fought in the war..."

Heero looked over at Duo with a confused expression. "What are you talking about?"

Duo leaned against a machine, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, think about it. Like putting money into a game, we put so much effort into fighting. We fought hard for the colonies, giving everything we had, even risking our own lives, but we got nothing in return. They even sided with OZ and turned against us. We became the enemies of everyone, but we still continued to fight, hoping that someone would understand us..." Duo looked down again. "But I don't think anyone ever did, and I doubt they do now, either. There are people like Relena who _think_ they understand us and why we fought, but is there anyone besides us five who really knows why, or even has the capacity to understand us and our reasons?"

Heero was shocked to hear Duo talking in this way. It was a side of Duo he'd never seen before, and he wasn't sure he liked it. He suddenly got the irresistible desire to comfort the other boy. "Duo, it doesn't matter whether other people understood us, or if they ever do. What matters is that our war is over, and now we finally have a chance to live our lives normally..." Heero couldn't believe that his innermost hopes that even _he'd_ believed were foolish and naïve were coming out in his attempt to reassure Duo.

Duo looked up, surprised. Heero was actually trying to _comfort_ him? He was certain that all he would get out of Heero was an annoyed 'Hn,' or maybe a 'Stop worrying about unnecessary things,' but instead Heero was trying to make Duo feel better about what they'd all been through. It seemed like their roles had been reversed. He finally got over his shock and managed to answer. "Do you really think it's going to be that easy to adjust from years of training and fighting to the mediocre lives of everyday people?"

Duo was voicing the pessimistic thoughts that made Heero think his desire to live normally truly was unrealistic. "I didn't say it was going to be easy, but at least we have a chance..." Heero looked up and saw that Duo was now smiling softly at him, his violet eyes seeming to display a myriad of emotions. Heero found it difficult to breathe staring into those eyes, much like when they had been staring at each other earlier. Suddenly, those piercing eyes were getting closer as Duo had stopped leaning against the arcade game and was walking toward him.

Duo stopped a couple feet in front of him and gave him a soft and grateful smile. He put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Thank you, Heero." Duo smile got even wider. "I feel much better now."

Heero was still having trouble breathing, especially now that Duo was touching him, but he managed a tiny smile in reply. "It was nothing." They found themselves staring at each other again, neither one able to move or say anything as their eyes explored each other, wondering what they would find in their depths. _What the hell is going on? What's happening to me?_ Heero wondered to himself. He didn't know why he was so captivated by Duo, but he was. He didn't know how it had happened, but there was nothing he could do to stop his feelings now. Duo had broken something in him; before, he'd always had control over his emotions and how he responded to them. He knew which emotions to act on and which ones were better to repress. The feelings he had for Duo, however, were foreign to him. He had no idea how to react to them or what they might make him do. He found himself wanting to be closer to Duo, which was a feeling he consciously didn't want to act on. His body, however, had its own idea of what he should do. He found himself leaning his face closer to Duo's, and Duo, after a brief moment of looking surprised, began leaning forward as well.

Their faces were inches apart when a member of the resort staff came in, causing them to jump apart. The man blinked a couple times, then blushed profusely. "Oh, e-excuse me! I just came to announce that the arcade will be closing now..."

Duo was also blushing. "Uhh, thanks for telling us. Let's go, Hee—" He turned and found that Heero was already rushing out of the arcade in the direction of the elevator. Although Heero looked completely calm on the outside, Duo could see Heero's ears were turning bright red as he ran to catch up to him. Duo barely got to the elevator before the door closed; it seemed Heero was trying to escape from him. Heero glared as Duo got into the elevator but said nothing. The two of them rode up in silence. As soon as they reached their floor, Heero stormed straight to his room. Duo followed closely and managed to catch the door with his foot just before Heero shut it. "Heero, can I come in?"

Inside, Heero had his back turned to the door. He had tried to inconspicuously escape from Duo, but apparently, it hadn't worked. He felt both disappointed and relieved; he'd unconsciously hoped that Duo would follow him, but at the same time he didn't know if he could face the only person who could make him feel so confused about his emotions, the one who could break down years of emotional training with a single touch. He took a deep breath to try to help calm himself. "Do as you please."

Duo walked into the dark room and shut the door. As he sat down in a chair, he looked around and found that the room was the same as his: King-sized bed, balcony, fireplace, full kitchen, elaborate entertainment system, bathroom with a jacuzzi tub...as he'd said earlier, it was much better than most of the houses or apartments he'd ever lived in. His eyes locked on Heero, who was leaning with his hands on the kitchen counter, facing away from Duo. "Heero..."

Heero stood unmoving as he answered. "What?"

"Aren't you gonna say anything about what just almost happened?" Duo was dying to find out if Heero actually had any feelings for him, but he was almost certain Heero wouldn't admit them if he did.

"What's there to say?" Heero said in his usual monotone.

Duo got up from his chair. "Umm, hel-LO, Heero! I don't know how things looked from your point-of-view, but it seems to me like we were just about to kiss back there!"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Duo became angry and stalked into the kitchen. "Wha…what the hell, man?! Just because you don't want to admit something doesn't mean it didn't happen!" Duo stood directly behind Heero. "Now look at me and tell me what you were thinking!"

A part of Heero wanted to resist Duo, as he didn't appreciate receiving orders from someone who didn't have the authority to give them, but that was beat out by the desire for Duo he didn't want to admit he had. He suddenly swung around and grabbed Duo by the shoulders. He took a moment to appreciate how beautiful Duo looked in the faint lighting of the room before he leaned forward and placed his lips on Duo's shocked mouth. It seemed to take Duo a few seconds to realize what was happening, then he wrapped his arms around Heero and began returning his kiss passionately. The two of them stood exploring each other's mouths for what seemed like forever before their feet began moving them towards the bed. Without even parting their lips to breathe, the two of them fell onto the mattress and began expressing the feelings they both knew they had, yet neither one was able to admit aloud to the other.

To be continued...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater!

Spazz: There, I got another part done, finally ^_^;; Sorry it took me three months, but I'm a busy—

Chibi Duo: *Cough*Lazy*cough*

Spazz: *Glares at Chibi Duo* I'm a _busy_ girl, and I just didn't have time to finish writing until now.

Chibi Duo: Yeah, sure, whatever.

Spazz: My, you're in a sour Heero-like mood. What's wrong with you?

Chibi-Duo: I'm disappointed with this fan-fic! It's only goes to lime! Where's the lemon?

Spazz: *Sweatdrop* I told you already! I'm too innocent to write lemon *bats her eyelashes, tries to look sweet*

Chibi Duo: Ha! You've read enough of them, I think you'd be able to write one. *Gets starry eyed* I want to do "this kind of thing" and "that kind of thing" with Heero...

Spazz: So go do it. You're not a part of the fic.

Chibi Duo: I can't. Heero's busy in the kitchen.

Spazz: The kitchen? What the hell is he doing in there? *looks in...sweatdrops*

Chibi Heero: *Dressed in apron, frying eggs, singing to the tune of "Flying Away" in his adorable little voice* Frying away...

*Everyone goes, as suggested in Quatre's song "I'm Your Friend," right and left and up and down*

Spazz: *Cough* Well, I think this ending thingy has dragged out quite long enough now. Make sure to e-mail me if you want to send threatening letters!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, it's meeeee again! Time for the next part of this fan-ficcy! Enjoy! (If at all possible ^_^;;)

Le Disclaimer: Characters not owned by moi. Uh huh huh huh.

Mission Completed: 2000.07.31

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_AC 195 Christmas morning_

Duo awoke early in the morning with a happy sigh. He stared up at the ceiling and smiled. Wow, what a dream he'd had last night! First, he'd dreamed that the war had ended and that he and the other pilots were all staying at a fancy resort in the L-1 colony cluster. Then, after having an unusual conversation with Heero, they went back to his room and made love. He'd had such dreams about Heero several times before, but this one had been the most realistic he'd ever had. It seemed so real, his body almost felt sore as if something really had happened. He closed his eyes and rolled over to try to fall back asleep, hoping he would have another incredible dream if he did.

Duo froze as his body encountered another one in the bed. His eyes snapped open and he was greeted by Heero's sleeping face. _Holy shit, it wasn't a dream!_ Duo stared at Heero in disbelief; things this great never happened to him! He usually had rotten luck, but for once, something he'd waited for and wished for for so long had actually happened!

He grinned and snuggled under the covers as he remembered some of the details of the night before. Until then, he'd never even kissed anyone, let alone had sex. Knowing Heero's attitude towards other people, he doubted he had, either. Since neither of them had any experience in the matter, they'd had to make their own rules. The result, Duo thought, was very sensual and exciting. Every touch, every kiss had seemed so loving and significant. The mostly gentle, occasionally teasing patterns of their lovemaking had been extremely satisfying, in more ways than one. But the most amazing of all, to Duo, was watching Heero's face. The usual cold, hard stare and icy expression were gone. They had been replaced with a warm, caring, smiling face. Yes, _smiling_! Sure, Duo had seen Heero smile before, but only the psychotic grin he got after blowing up an enemy. _This_ smile had looked like that of someone who was truly happy. This fact made Duo feel like the greatest person to ever walk the Earth; _he_ was the one who had made Heero that happy! There was probably no one else who had ever seen Heero smile like that.

Duo let out another sigh as he recalled all of this about the night before. It had been, without a doubt, not only the best, but also the most meaningful night of his life. Duo closed his eyes and relaxed, letting the warmth radiating from Heero's body guide him back to his blissful sleep.

Before he could fall back asleep, though, his eyes flew open again as another, more disturbing thought entered his mind. Yes, he knew that last night had meant a lot to him, but what did it mean to Heero? He could tell that Heero was definitely enjoying what they were doing, but did it have the same emotional significance for him as it had for Duo? Heero had _looked_ happy, but that didn't necessarily mean _Duo_ was making him happy. Maybe he was just happy that the war was over. The more Duo thought about it, the more it made sense to him. Heero had never really shown any desire to be with Duo before, but suddenly, on the night the war ended, the two of them ended up in bed together. Maybe Heero just wanted a way to celebrate the end of the war, and there Duo was, practically challenging Heero to do something, so he had just done it. _Of course, that must be it...Jeez, what was I thinking? I'm such a dumbass!_ Duo scolded himself. Duo was beginning to feel very uncomfortable, so he decided that maybe it would be best if he just left before Heero woke up. As he started to move to get out of the bed, however, Heero's eyes snapped opened. Duo froze in that icy glare. "Uhh...Heero!...G-G'mornin'..."

"Morning," Heero replied gruffly, not showing any of the emotion Duo had seen the night before, confirming his assumptions even further. If only he knew what Heero was really thinking...

Although Heero was not showing it outwardly, he was the happiest he had ever been in his short fifteen years of life. Sure, he was scared as hell, but he was still happy. He had never imagined that Duo would even _accept_ the feelings he had been hiding the past few months; the fact that Duo returned his feelings just as strongly was shocking. He wished he could tell Duo how much he meant to him, but he couldn't. Although he claimed to live by his emotions, he was more used to running and hiding from them, and this case was no exception. There was no way he could actually _say_ what he was feeling. Heero decided not to worry about it, as the situation would most likely resolve itself. After all, Duo certainly wasn't one to hide his emotions, so he could just wait for Duo to say what he was feeling and then just go along with him...

"Umm...Heero, I know what you must be thinking right now..." Duo began, trying to think of how to say what he thought Heero wanted to hear. "And I just want to say that I had a great time with you last night..."

Heero began to smile inwardly. _Yep, here he goes,_ he thought.

"But...I realize that at times when you're feeling extreme emotions, such as at the end of a war, you might end up doing things you wouldn't normally do..."

Heero looked confused. This wasn't what he had been expecting at all. "What?"

"Listen, Heero, what I'm saying is that I understand that this was just your way of expressing the happiness you felt because of the end of the war. I'm not saying that I'm sorry we did it, Heero, because...well, last night was the most wonderful night of my life. I was happy to be here to share myself with you. After all, I do consider you to be my closest friend..." Duo was beginning to get choked up, so he got out of bed and started putting his clothes back on.

All Heero could do was sit on the bed in shock. He wanted to tell Duo he was wrong. In his mind, he was screaming out that the night they spent together wasn't just a celebration of the end of the war, but the true expression of the emotions he was feeling. He wanted so badly to say something, but all he could do was watch Duo move silently through the room in the soft glow of the light from the rising sun.

After Duo finished getting dressed, he walked over to the door to leave. He opened the door and started to step out, but first he turned around. "Oh, and Heero?"

"Hmm?"

Duo smiled at him. "Merry Christmas..." With that, he left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

Heero could only sit on the bed in shock. _What the hell just happened?_

Duo entered his room and slumped against the door upon shutting it. He let out a sigh. _Man, I've really gotten myself into a mess this time. What am I gonna do?_ He felt like something was crawling down his face, so he reached up to swat away whatever it was. He was surprised when his hand came back wet. _Whoa...it's been a long time since I last cried..._ Duo thought back and realized that he hadn't cried since the Maxwell church had been destroyed and Sister Helen had died in his arms. That had been seven, almost eight years ago. After that, whenever he'd felt like crying, he'd just think to himself, _Come on, Duo. You're a boy. You can handle it._ Now, here he was, crying over Heero. "You're pathetic, Duo," he told himself.

He sat down on his bed and thought about the situation for a few minutes, trying to console himself. He realized he would have to think rationally about this and stay in touch with reality. He certainly didn't want to go off into his own little magic fantasy world like Relena did. The thought of that _really_ caused a breakthrough for Duo. He'd be damned if he started following Heero around like a lost puppy the way Relena did, always holding onto the delusion that either Heero was already in love with her, or that he would fall in love with her if she hung around him enough. No _way_ would he end up like that! He had to deal with things with more maturity than _Relena._

Duo decided that he would try not to worry about the situation too much. Yes, he loved Heero, but if Heero didn't love him back, there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't going to start hanging around him more, trying to make Heero change his mind. Instead, he would just try to pretend things were normal and hope they could go back to being friends. He would love to be more than just a friend to Heero, but if friendship was the most he could get, Duo would gladly take that, too. He couldn't stand to lose Heero altogether.

Now that Duo had decided what to do, he stood up to go take a shower. He realized with a grin just how sore his body was as he walked. Sure, they'd probably never do anything like what they had done the previous night again, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy thinking about it...

Duo thought about Heero all through his time in the shower. He could smell his scent on his own body, and could imagine his usually rough hands gently stroking him, and he could almost feel his... _Stop!_ Duo reminded himself. _You decided to just be his friend, remember?_ Duo sighed. It would probably take some time to stop thinking about Heero in "that" way, but he had to try. But still...hey, it was only the morning after, and since it _would_ take a while, there was no point of depriving himself at the moment. Duo's thoughts drifted back to Heero, and his touch, and his...

After Duo finished his incredibly prolonged shower, he started to get dressed. Upon realizing that he only had two pairs of clothes with him, he decided he needed to go shopping after he got some breakfast. After all, they had a party to attend later, and Duo wanted to look his best.

To be continued...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater!

Spazz: Daaaamn, this took a long time to write! I'm sorry! I was lazy 'n' stuff, ya know? And busy expanding my collection of the wily and elusive Chibi. *Points to several Poke balls*

Voice from inside Poke ball: Hey! Let me out or I'll Final Flash your ash...err, ass!

Spazz: No way! It took me forever to catch you.

VFIPB: Fine. Big Bang Attack! *Ball begins to glow gold, then explodes. A Chibi Super Saiyan Vegeta pops out* There. *De-super Saiyans* (Look! I made a new verb ^_^) You bitch! What makes you think you have the right to capture me, Prince of all the Saiyans, in a Poke ball?

Spazz: First of all...Prince of ALL the Saiyans? What, all two of you? Well, of course, there are all those half-Saiyans running around.

Chibi Vegeta: *Clenches fists* That damn Kakarrot! Defiling the purity of our race by shacking up with some Earth woman!

Spazz: Uh, you did the same thing too, ya know. Do the names Trunks and Bra sound familiar?

Chibi Vegeta: *Blushes* Shut up! Kakarrot did it first, so all the blame falls on him!

Spazz: Anyway, the reason why I captured you in a Poke ball is 'cause you Saiyans are very similar to Pokemon. Your power level gets higher with every battle, and you fight better after getting the shit beat out of you, just like Pokemon do. Plus, you're Chibi, so you fit inside easily.

Chibi Vegeta: Hn. Well, I don't have time for your crappy explanations. I have a meeting to attend...

Spazz: Meeting?

*Several Chibi chairs appear, making a Chibi circle. One of the Chibi chairs has Chibi Heero sitting in it.* (Chibi overload! *Passes out*)

Chibi Vegeta: *Sits down in a chair*

Chibi Heero: I now call to order this meeting of "The Spandex Support Group." At this meeting, we shall be discussing the benefits of spandex VS other materials for everyday wear...

Spazz: *Pulls Chibi Duo aside, who was watching the meeting* Duo, what the hell are they doing?

Chibi Duo: Heero got fed up with everyone always making fun of his spandex, so he started a support group...

Chibi Heero: ...and it always stays firmly in place, no adjustments needed...

Spazz: Heh heh. I see. *Notices a cloud floating towards the Chibi meeting* What the hell is that? *Reads writing on side of cloud* "Out of character cloud?" What's that thing doing here? They're already Chibi, how much more OOC can they get? *Cloud floats closer to Chibi Heero and Chibi Vegeta*

Chibi Vegeta: ...not to mention showing off the wearer's muscles and... *OOC cloud passes over Chibi Heero and Chibi Vegeta...* ...and...

Chibi Heero & Chibi Vegeta: *Burst into adorable Chibi tears and begin hugging each other*

Chibi Heero: *Sob* Nobody understands me and my spandex!

Chibi Vegeta: *Sniffle* I feel your pain, brother!

Spazz: OK, that's enough! Even though it is adorable...awww *Swoons*...*ahem* but it's time to bring out the cheerful boyfriend and the angry wife to get things back to normal.

*Chibi Duo and Chibi Bulma run out, grab their respective men, and begin *ahem* comforting them.* *smooch smooch*

Spazz: *Ahem* Well, if this keeps going, this ending thingy is going to be longer than the actual chapter itself o_O;; E-mail me or review with comments 'n' stuff, yo.


	4. Chapter 4

Author babble: Whoa, I took a really long break from this fic (Thirteen freakin' months!). Well, I'm back now, ready to write again. I think I needed the break because I'm not used to writing anything even remotely angsty, and the last part definitely had a bit of angst in it (for me, anyway, considering I usually do comedy...). Anyway, I'm still chugging along with this fic, so enjoy ^_^

Disclaimer: Me no own Gundam Wing.

Mission Completed: 2001.09.17

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Heero sat on the bed in his suite, staring at the door Duo had just left through with a dumbfounded expression on his face. _I can't believe that just happened,_ Heero thought to himself. _I was so sure Duo had feelings for me._ Heero couldn't understand why Duo would act the way he had the previous night and then just brush everything off in the morning. Heero had never seen Duo regretting anything he'd ever done before...of course, Heero hadn't even known Duo for a year; who was he to judge how Duo normally acted? Duo had certainly looked sincere the night before, and he didn't seem like someone who'd fake something like that. Heero had noticed that Duo didn't try to make any apologies about what happened, so it was unlikely that he had regrets about what they'd done...so what _was_ Duo thinking? Heero just couldn't figure it out.

Heero sighed. Maybe he'd had Duo figured all wrong. Heero wasn't really the best at judging others in this kind of situation, as he'd been taught that all emotions unrelated to his missions were erroneous. _But,_ he reminded himself again, _I don't have any more missions to worry about..._ That fact actually frightened Heero quite a bit; during the war, his excuse for not dealing with his "extra" emotions, as he called them, was that he had missions to concentrate on, and missions always came first. Now that the war was over, Heero had no escape from his emotions. He thought he'd found the way to deal with his feelings for Duo the previous night, but apparently Duo either didn't share the same feelings, or had now decided to hide his emotions for some reason. Heero was a skilled soldier, and was quite used to having his first option always work out, so _now_ what was he supposed to do? Heero was in the midst of discovering all the things that most people have been used to dealing with all their lives, and it was a bit overwhelming to him.

Heero was brought out of his thoughts when a desperate knock sounded on the door. Heero hadn't even known a knock could _sound_ desperate, but he knew there was one girl who could make everything she did around him seem desperate and obsessive. "Heero? Are you in there?" Relena's voice sounded through the door.

Heero wondered how Relena would react if he said 'no'. "Yes," he finally said.

"May I come in?"

Heero looked down at his naked self. He briefly contemplated what would happen if he answered the door as he was. Relena would most likely faint and hit her head on the floor, rendering her unconscious for quite some time. At least that would solve _one_ of his problems. However, it would only be a temporary solution. Besides, Relena was wildly unpredictable; perhaps she wouldn't be shocked at all and would instead try to take advantage of him. He never could tell what that girl was thinking. He finally answered her question. "No, I'm still in bed."

Relena smiled at the thought. Heero, lying in his bed, all helpless...she blushed at the direction her thoughts had been going in. _A fair maiden such as myself should not be having such impure thoughts! Of course, when one is in love, one cannot help oneself sometimes..._ She pulled herself out of her "impure thoughts" and cleared her throat. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to come shopping with me. After all, you need to get some clothes for the party tonight, don't you?"

Heero thought about it for a minute. Sure, Relena was annoying as hell to be around, but maybe concentrating on being annoyed at her would help him keep his mind off the events of the previous night. "Okay," he replied.

"All right, I will return in one hour to pick you up. See you then, Heero." Relena scampered off.

Heero grimaced at the overly cheerful tone he had detected in her voice. _Great, she thinks this is a date or something._ Heero was already beginning to regret his decision. He sighed and got out of bed, heading for the bathroom. _Oh, well,_ Heero thought once again, _at least this might help me forget about Duo for a while..._ Heero climbed into the shower and smiled a bit as his thoughts drifted to Duo again. Although he still wondered why Duo had acted the way he had, as he showered he allowed more pleasant thoughts of Duo to take precedence for a while.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Duo had been shopping for about an hour and a half, and he had acquired a sizable amount of purchases. He had intended on buying only the essential things he needed for the next few days, but since he had been informed by a store owner in the resort that Relena was picking up the tab on everything they bought there, he decided to splurge a little. Since Duo had spent most of his life in poverty, he really couldn't be blamed for wanting to have some nice, new things for once in his life. So far, he'd bought a few hundred dollars' worth of clothes, shoes and jackets. He especially liked the leather pants and jacket he'd bought, which he thought made him look really cool. As Duo was leaving, he bumped into a couple walking into the store, causing him to drop some of the bags he was carrying. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry..." Duo began apologizing, then stopped when he realized he had just bumped into Heero, who had been entering the store with Relena. Duo stared for a moment before he put on the widest grin he could muster under the circumstances. "Hey, Heero. What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice strangely shaky.

"Shopping."

Duo let out an awkward laugh. "Oh yeah, I guess that was a pretty dumb question, huh?" Duo laughed again.

"Duo," Heero said.

"Yes?" Duo asked, heart fluttering at the sound of Heero saying his name.

"You dropped your bags."

Duo looked down. "Oh, right." Duo bent down to gather his fallen purchases, and Heero began helping him. Duo felt a tingle shoot through him when his hand touched Heero's as they reached for the same bag. Duo began blushing as his mind suddenly drifted to the last time he and Heero had been touching. Soon, they had all Duo's bags gathered, and, to Duo's dismay, Relena snaked her arm through Heero's again...and he didn't look the least bit bothered. They stood in awkward silence for a minute, and when Duo's thoughts started heading in a naughty direction again, he decided he'd better split. "Well, I've got to go now. More shopping to do, and stuff. See ya later." Duo practically ran off, his face flushed as indecent thoughts about Heero continued to assault his mind.

Heero watched Duo's retreat in wonder, his eyes seeming to automatically focus on Duo's lower portions. _Damn, he's got a sexy ass._ Heero immediately thought back to the last time he had seen Duo's ass. He blushed slightly. _I can't believe I'm thinking about this._ Heero began realizing that sex was quite different from other bodily matters. He compared it to how when you have an itch, all you have to do is scratch it and the itch goes away. When it came to sexual desire, however, the "itch" didn't go away when he "scratched" it. Instead, it became stronger than before and it just wanted to be scratched again...and again and again and...Heero was pulled out of his thoughts when Relena began talking.

"Well, that was...unusual," Relena said. "I wonder why Duo was acting so strangely..."

Heero was shocked at her words. _Wow, for once she actually noticed something going on that doesn't involve herself,_ Heero thought. Seeing as how Relena was usually oblivious to the rest of the world, it was surprising to see her actually concerned for someone else. Heero wondered how she would react if he told her what had happened between him and Duo, but decided not to as it might kill her, and he didn't want to have to explain to the authorities what he was doing with the dead body of the former Queen of the World. He grinned as he came up with another, perhaps even more sadistic reply. "Maybe he has a crush on you," Heero said with a perfectly straight face.

Relena looked at him in horror. "Wha...What?"

Heero had to fight back his evil grin. "You saw how unusual he was acting. People tend to do that when they're in love." Heero believed what he was saying was true, though he doubted Relena was the target of Duo's affections.

"Oh...oh, my," Relena said, blushing. "I had no idea he had feelings for me...Oh, Heero, what should I do?"

Heero shrugged. "You can't stop a person's emotions," he said, then thought to himself, _...no matter how hard you try, especially when they're your own._ Relena stood with a distraught look on her face. Heero made a mental note that he could now think of one reason not to kill Relena: toying with her mind was much more fun, and it gave her something to obsess over besides him.

Relena finally regained her composure after Heero's shocking "revelation," and said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to set him straight as soon as possible. Being so beautiful and popular really is a crime..." Heero had to use all his willpower not to gag at that remark. "Let's begin shopping, shall we?" Heero and Relena entered the store as Heero once again began thinking about Duo and pondering his actions.

Duo stormed straight to his room after his encounter with Heero and Relena. Once he closed the door, he let out a frustrated yell. "Augh! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Duo yelled at himself, banging his head against the door on each 'stupid'. He rubbed his head and decided he should get away from all hard objects, including doors and walls. He flopped down on his bed, which, Duo noted, was still perfectly made up, as it had gone unused the night before. When he began thinking about _why_ it hadn't been used yet, he smacked himself in the head. "Stop it! Stop thinking about Heero like that! You want to be his friend, remember? F-R-I-E-N-D!" Duo realized he should probably stop yelling at himself, as others who heard him might think he was crazy. Duo sighed. _Maybe I really am going crazy..._ he thought.

He recalled the way he had acted when he bumped into Heero and Relena at the store. _God, he must think I've lost it completely, stuttering and drooling like some fanatic little teenybopper meeting their idol d' jour._ He couldn't believe he had acted like such an idiot in front of Heero. He certainly hoped he could keep from acting like that every time he saw Heero, or he would just have to stop seeing him altogether, which Duo certainly didn't want. It was just so hard to act normally around Heero after what had happened between the two of them. Duo smacked himself again as his mind began to wander in "that" direction once again and sighed. _Looks like being just friends with Heero after what happened last night is going to be a lot harder than I thought..._

To be continued...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater!

Spazz: Yay, that was fun-and-a-half! I can't believe I put off writing this for so long...I'm a terrible person.

Readers: *Nod nod*

Spazz: Hey, you weren't supposed to agree! *Sniffle* Anyway, in this part, we discovered a reason not to kill Relena! Messing with her mind is so much more fun. We should add that to the list.

Chibi Duo: And how long is the list of reasons not to kill her?

Spazz: Well, adding in the one I just discovered, the grand total of reasons is...one.

Chibi Heero: Wow. That's more than I would have expected from you.

Spazz: Eh heh heh...Well, anyway, I have something I'd like to make fun of now *Joy* In issue 8-12 of Animerica, they displayed the results of the annual fan awards. Guess which couple got first place?

Chibi Duo: *Hopefully* Me and Heero?

Spazz: No...you deserved it, but no. It was Tamahome and Miaka.

Chibi Duo: Oh. Whoop-dee-shit.

Spazz: That was my reaction. But anyway, in "honor" of their victory, here's a little scene of those two lovebirds for all to "enjoy."

Miaka: Tamahome...

Tamahome: Miaka...

Miaka: Tamahomeee~~~eee!

Tamahome: Miakaaa~~~aaa!

Both: *Come running together and hug in a flowery shoujo moment*

Tamahome: Oh, Miaka. Those last 47 breakups were terrible! But now, nothing can keep us apart. We're finally together forever.

Miaka: *Looks away melodramatically* Actually, there's something I have to tell you.

Tamahome: *Grabs her shoulders melodramatically* What is it, Miaka?

Miaka: I *sob* can't see you anymore!

Tamahome: *Gasp* But...but why?

Miaka: I can't tell you.

Tamahome: No, you didn't tell me the last four times, and you're supposed to tell me every fifth time.

Miaka: Oh, okay. Well, here's what happened: I was eating some alphabet soup and I saw the letters "YCST" floating together.

Tamahome: *Blink blink* ...And?

Miaka: Don't you see? It stands for "You Can't See Tamahome." Food wouldn't _lie_ , Tamahome! I'm sorry...I have to go. *Runs away melodramatically*

Tamahome: Miakaaaa~~~!

Two minutes later...

Miaka: Tamahome...

Tamahome: Miaka...

Miaka: Tamahomeee~~~eee!

Tamahome: Miakaaa~~~aaa!

Miaka: Oh, I'm so happy to see you, Tamahome. I have some wonderful news!

Tamahome: *Grabs her shoulders melodramatically...again* What is it Miaka?

Miaka: Well, I was eating some alphabet soup and I saw the letters "YCST" floating together.

Tamahome: *Blink blink* ...And?

Miaka: Don't you see? It stands for "You CAN See Tamahome!" And food wouldn't lie, so now I know we'll finally be together forever!

Tamahome: *Hugs her* Oh, Miaka!

Miaka: Tamahomeeee~~~eee!

Spazz: *Wakes up* Well, wasn't that "entertaining?" This ending part is getting really long (as usual). See ya'll next time!


	5. Chapter 5

Author babble: Yay, it didn't take that long to write this part ^_^ (Well, not long for _me_ , anyway...). This is the part where things start to get pretty silly (Wait, isn't it silly enough already?). It includes a scene I had in mind waaay back when I first started writing this fic two and a half years ago. Anyway, beware and enjoy ^_^

Disclaimer: Yes, I created Gundam Wing. Anyone wanna challenge me? *Gundam Wing creators hold a gun to Spazz's head* Uhh...heh heh. Just kidding...

Mission Completed: 2001.10.30

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Heero had seen death. He had seen destruction. He had seen entire colonies full of people wiped out in an instant. He had been tortured for information. He had slept on rocks during rainstorms. He had nearly starved to death. He'd had to complete countless missions while enduring excruciating pain. Truly, during his lifetime, Heero had been to Hell and back...

"Oh, Heero, isn't this dress just soooo cute?"

Yes, indeed, Heero had endured many hardships in his life. But nothing he had gone through could prepare him for the mind-numbing torture of clothes shopping with Relena. He'd done his own shopping fairly quickly, but then Relena had _insisted_ that she needed new clothes, too. He'd lost track of how many hours had gone by as his brain slowly turned to mush. There seemed to be an endless waltz playing: Relena would go into the dressing room, come out wearing some outfit, and Heero would nod, or make some other gesture that gave the illusion of him actually paying attention. Luckily, Heero knew every song had to come to an end sometime...

"Okay, I am finished shopping now, Heero," Relena said, after having five store workers carry her choices to the register.

Heero snapped to attention. _Finally..._ he thought. As the cashier went to work ringing up the mountain of purchases, Heero's mind began to wander again, grasping for an appropriate subject to think about. Within the first ten minutes of being in the store, he had memorized its layout, identified the most strategic locations, and measured the distances of the shortest possible escape routes from every point in the store (All of which were things he was used to doing, due to his extensive training). He had then gone on to imagine several different scenarios in which armed troops would enter the store and planned the most effective way to take them out—even though the war was over, Heero still couldn't help but look at things from a militaristic perspective. As the hours went on, however, he had begun to run out of scenarios, and his mind inevitably roamed back to Duo.

Heero still found it hard to believe how little control he had over his own thoughts and feelings. There had been times before when he had successfully repressed things he didn't want to think about, but in this case, it seemed his feelings were too powerful for him to just forget about. Heero let out a breath of air in frustration. _That's it,_ he thought. _If I can't stop thinking about Duo, then I might as well make my thoughts about him worthwhile._ Heero still wanted to figure out why Duo was insisting that the night they spent together meant nothing to him, so he decided to make it his mission to find out. "Mission acknowledged," Heero said quietly.

"What did you say, Heero?"

"I said we should get going soon."

Relena looked at her watch. "Oh, my! You're right! We only have an hour and a half left until the party starts!" Relena looked up to see Heero heading towards the door with his bags in hand. "Heero! Where are you going?"

"Back to my room. I have to get ready for the party." It was a pretty lame excuse, as Heero knew it would only take him five minutes to get ready, but at that point, he would use any excuse he could to get away from Relena. Before she could say another word, he was out the door.

"But..." Relena looked at her pile of bags, "but who's going to carry my stuff?"

Heero reached his room and flopped down on the bed. Freedom, sweet freedom! Finally, he had managed to escape the clutches of the ultimate evil. Heero didn't even know why he had decided to appease Relena that one time, but after his experience, he swore he would never do it again. There was no torture greater than spending the day with Relena.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A bit before the party was to begin, Duo arrived at the door to the ballroom, where an employee was checking people off of a guest list. Duo said his name to the man and was led in, an act that was very unfamiliar to him; he usually had to sneak into these kinds of parties, and he'd certainly never been on the VIP list of _anything_ before.

Duo stepped into the ballroom and paused to look around for a second. The room featured hard wood floors, a high ceiling, many chandeliers, and lots of garlands, ribbons, and a huge Christmas tree, too. There were also many tables and chairs, a dance floor, and a stage, which, Duo noted warily, had a karaoke machine set up on it. Duo looked around to see if any of the other pilots had arrived yet.

Meanwhile, Relena, who had arrived a few minutes earlier, was with a group of friends, who were all gushing over how wonderful she was, how beautiful her dress was, and generally kissing her ass as much as possible. She wasn't really paying attention, though, as she was busy doing her own search. She had wondered why Heero had left so abruptly earlier, but she had quickly convinced herself that Heero wanted to take extra time to get ready so he would look extra special just for her. She sighed happily. _Heero is so sweet and romantic,_ she thought.

Suddenly, she spotted the object of her affections sitting at the end of a row of chairs across the room. And, what was that? Could it be? Relena squinted a bit to get a closer look. Yes, it was! Relena had noticed that there was a sprig of mistletoe hanging over Heero's head. She squealed inwardly. What a perfect opportunity to experience her first kiss with Heero! _It must be destiny,_ she thought. _I'm sure this is a story we'll be telling our grandchildren._ Relena excused herself from the group and began heading toward where Heero was sitting.

As Duo searched around, he suddenly noticed Relena. She was walking rather quickly and had a mysterious glint in her eyes. Duo looked at the direction she was headed in and noticed she was making a beeline for Heero. Since the look in her eyes made him feel uneasy, he rushed in the same direction so he could protect Heero from whatever scheme she had planned for him. He felt butterflies swirling in his stomach as he got closer to Heero, but he considered preventing Relena from causing eye-roll inducing scenes much more important than keeping himself from acting like an idiot again. "Hi there, Heero," Duo said when he finally reached him, his voice cracking a bit. "Can I sit here?" he asked, indicating the empty seat next to Heero.

"Do as you please," Heero said in his usual cold tone. His voice showed no indication that he was glad to see Duo, which actually couldn't be farther from the truth. Not only was he happy to see him because of the feelings he had for him, but also because he had seen Relena heading in his direction, as well, and Duo always seemed to be a good deterrent for whatever twisted plans she had in store for him.

Just as Duo sat down, Relena appeared in front of the two boys. "Good evening, Missy," Duo said, very pointedly putting an arm around Heero's shoulders, causing both of their bodies to warm up a bit. "How are you doing this lovely evening?"

Relena looked mournfully at the seat Duo now occupied. "Fine..." she said in a disappointed tone. She glared at Duo. If he were a gentleman, he would have offered her his seat so she could sit next to her one true love. Duo didn't look as though he had any intention of doing that, though, so Relena dejectedly sat down in the chair next to him. If she couldn't be right next to her love, she would at least be as close to him as possible. She sighed and glanced woefully at the mistletoe. It was one missed opportunity, but there would surely be several more throughout the night.

Duo couldn't help from grinning like a maniac. He could tell from Relena's expression that he had obviously foiled whatever little scheme she'd had in mind. Not only that, but he felt kind of a dizzy high from having his arm around Heero. Sure, he had often made the same gesture before they had slept together, but now everything about it felt completely different; it just felt so much more intimate. Duo thought that doing the same things he had done before would help him to be just friends with Heero again, but he was quickly realizing that, even though the actions were the same, things just felt so _different_ now. "Are you having a good time?" Duo asked Relena.

"Yes..." Duo had never seen someone sulk so much while trying to confirm that they were having a good time. It only made his grin wider.

"Well, that's good. I'm sure it's gonna be a great party, right Heero?" Duo lightly squeezed Heero's shoulders.

"Hn." Heero was glad he had floppy hair, because he knew his ears were turning red.

Before the threesome could attempt any more uncomfortable conversations, Quatre and Trowa walked up to them. "Hello," Quatre said in his usual friendly tone. "How are you three doing?"

"Fine..."

"Great!"

"Hn."

"Well, that's good...I guess," Quatre said, noticing Relena's sulking. There was more silence for a minute, until Quatre decided to speak up again. "This certainly is an exquisitely designed ballroom. Look at those chandeliers." As Quatre looked up to admire the elaborate ceiling fixtures, he noticed a little something that Relena had seen earlier. "Hey, look, there's mistletoe hanging above your chairs!"

Duo looked up as well. So _that's_ why Relena had been rushing toward Heero so purposefully before. He smirked. Well, now _he_ was the one sitting next to Heero, so that meant...

"Duo, Miss Relena, I believe a kiss is in order."

Both Duo and Relena froze in horror. Duo looked up again. Now that he looked more carefully, the mistletoe really _was_ hanging between him and Relena, rather than him and Heero...

 _No, no, this is all wrong!_ Relena thought in dismay. _This is not what my destiny should be! This is not the story I want to tell my grandchildren!_ Even worse, due to the mind games Heero had been playing with her earlier, Relena was convinced Duo had a crush on her. _He's actually going to enjoy stealing the first kiss from a maiden such as myself._ Relena continued her mental fretting.

"Uhh, Duo? Miss Relena? What are you waiting for?" Quatre prompted them. Both Duo and Relena gave him death glares that made Heero's usual scowl seem like a loving gaze in comparison. They turned towards each other and closed their eyes. Heero strained his neck to get a better look. This was something he just had to see.

 _Okay, calm down Duo,_ he thought to himself. _Just relax and think about Heero._ Duo quickly dashed that thought, as if he _did_ pretend it was Heero, he might get carried away and start totally making out with Relena, which was something he would happily die before having to experience. The two continued leaning towards each other until they felt the slightest bit of contact, at which point they quickly parted. Though just a few molecules of their lips had actually touched, and the time of the kiss could only be measured in nanoseconds, they had still satisfied the requirement.

At that moment, Lady Une appeared at the microphone on stage. "Welcome, everyone. I'm glad you all came to this celebration of both the end of the war and the holiday of Christmas. We would like to ask that everyone take their seats at the dining tables now so we may begin serving dinner. As you enjoy your meals, we will have many guests who will speak to you about important issues relating to this milestone event in all of our lives. Thank you for your patience." The five of them headed towards their assigned table, which was right up in front by the stage. They found Wufei was already there.

"Hey, Wufei, how ya doin'?" Duo greeted him.

Wufei sat with his arms crossed and didn't answer. Duo sweatdropped. Wufei still seemed a bit tense. After all, it had only been yesterday that he'd had to kill Treize himself.

They took their seats at the large round table and were soon served up an appetizing banquet of Christmas ham, potatoes, vegetables, and many other traditional holiday foods, including desserts. Duo drooled and gobbled down his food rather quickly. He found himself regretting that later, as once the guest speakers began talking, he had nothing to do but listen as they droned on endlessly. Most of them were stodgy old politicians who rarely had anything interesting to say. Sure, they were talking about things that were relevant to the recent happenings, but Duo had just got done fighting in the war; he wasn't ready to hear others prattle on incessantly about it. Duo made a mental note that when he made a speech next week at the New Year's celebration, he'd make his interesting.

As boring as Duo found the speeches, they were still a lot more tolerable than the conversations at the table, which consisted of Relena rattling on about god-knows-what and batting her eyes at Heero. Only Quatre was polite enough to at least feign interest in what she was saying; the other pilots tuned her out as best they could. As Duo's mind began to wander both during the speeches and during Relena's jabbering, it inevitably meandered back to Heero.

Duo was feeling more comfortable around Heero than he had in the morning, instilling him with a sense of confidence. _I can do this_ , he thought. _I can be just friends with Heero after sharing a wild night of passion with him._ Duo suddenly realized he shouldn't have thought those exact words even to himself, because they brought his mind back to the naughty area he'd been trying to avoid all day. Luckily, he was snapped out of his thoughts when another guest finished his speech and everyone began applauding.

"Thank you, Senator Miller. This concludes the guest speaker portion of the evening. We now bring your attention to the karaoke machine set up here on the stage. Please, feel free to come up and belt out your favorite tunes for all to enjoy. Have fun." A few whoops rang out from the audience, which seemed unusual for the type of party they were at. Duo suddenly realized that, although the food service had stopped a while ago, the drink service was still going strong. _Great,_ he thought, _Now we have to listen to a bunch of drunk old aristocrats singing "It's Rainin' Men."_ He began listening to what Relena was saying for a minute. More mindless garbage. _Well, I guess it's better than listening to that._ Duo began thinking that if he had a camera with him, he'd be able to take pictures of all the big politicians at their drunkest and use them for blackmailing purposes.

A familiar face stumbled over to their table. "Hii~~ii," Noin said, in a voice that indicated she'd obviously had her share of drinks that night. "How're ya'll doin'?"

"We're doing fine, thank you," Relena said, glancing at Heero. "Are you feeling all right, Noin? The loss of my brother must have been very hard on you..."

"No, 'cause, ya see, that's where yer wrong," Noin slurred. "He's alive, I tell ya. I can fffeeeeel it. I can feel it right here," she said, pointing to her elbow. Everyone gave her strange looks. They began to question the logic of there being no limit on drinks at the party. Noin looked at an invisible watch. "Whoa, I have to go now. It's almost my turn at kari...karo...singin'" With that, she stumbled off towards the stage. Everyone sweatdropped.

"She seems to be doing...well," Quatre said.

"Yeah...I guess everyone's dealing with the end of the war in their own way," Duo said. Saying that inadvertently reminded him of how he and Heero had ended up "dealing" with the war. His thoughts were interrupted when Noin reached the stage and began belting out her song of choice.

"Let's talk about Zechs, baby! Let's talk about him and me! Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that he's done to me!" Everyone sweatdropped.

Things stayed pretty much the same for the next couple hours: Relena continued to talk about things that really only mattered to her, occasionally with a flock of groupies hovering around; Duo kept trying, unsuccessfully, to stop having sexual fantasies about Heero; Heero continued to try to figure out why Duo wasn't showing his true feelings...and when he got frustrated with that, started having sexual fantasies about him; Quatre would occasionally add comments to Relena's ramblings, and other times talk quietly with Trowa; Wufei sat with his arms crossed, looking both troubled and bored at the same time. Finally, Duo decided he couldn't take anymore. "Well, I think I'm gonna call it a night, you guys."

"It's still pretty early. Are you sure?" Quatre asked.

Duo looked up at the stage. Noin was up there singing again. "He's too Zechsy for his shirt!"

"Positive."

"Okay, I guess maybe that is a good idea." The five pilots and Relena got up and left the ballroom, hearing one last snippet of Noin's singing before they left.

"He's a pilot, you know what I mean, and he does his little turn in his Gundam! Yeah, in his Gundam!"

The six of them got in the elevator and rode up to their floor, reminding both Heero and Duo of the night before when they had rode up together. Only this time, there was no rushing off the elevator and squeezing into Heero's room for a night of passion; instead, everyone just said goodnight and went to their respective rooms.

Relena closed the room to her door with a sigh. She had noticed that Heero had been acting really distant the whole night...what could the reason be? Relena thought hard for a minute. "Of course, it must be the kiss!" she thought aloud. "Heero must be jealous that my virgin lips were touched by another before he got the chance! My poor, sweet Heero..." Maybe Heero was upset because he thought she had enjoyed the kiss, which she most certainly had not. It was traumatizing that her first kiss had been with the very person who seemed to always come between her and Heero, and someone who had a crush on her, no less! Relena came to a decision: she would need to be extra affectionate with Heero to prove her love to him. She just couldn't bear to lose him because of a simple misunderstanding. "I will have my destiny," she said with resolve, "no matter what it takes..."

To be continued...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater!

Spazz: Yeesh, that's a creepy way to end a chapter...poor Heero.

Chibi Duo: Poor _Heero_?! You made me _kiss_ her!

Spazz: Yeah, well, that was one of the twisted scenes I had planned out from the beginning of the fic...sorry, but I thought it was funny ^_^

Chibi Duo: You would...you torture bishounen for fun.

Spazz: Nuh uh, you can't prove that...there were no witnesses!

*Other Chibi pilots enter*

Spazz: Hey, Heero, is that a gun in your spandex, or are you just happy to see me?

Chibi Heero: *Pulls out gun*

Spazz: Oh...heh heh.

Chibi Heero: *Points gun at Spazz* Why do you keep torturing us? When will Duo and I get back together?

Spazz: Soon enough, don't worry...I love you two too much to keep you apart much longer! Sorry that the other boys haven't gotten much love because of it...you know, Trowa, you haven't had a single line yet in my fan-fic, have you?

Chibi Trowa: ...

Spazz: Err, yeah, that's what I thought. Anyway, more insanity is soon to come, so stay tuned!


	6. Chapter 6

Author babble: Yay, I'm back again. See, look how I'm chugging along with this fic now (only two months for this part, oooh ^_^;;). Hopefully, this fic'll be done within a couple months, or possibly by the end of the year, if I write myself silly the next couple days (an unlikely prospect :P). Sorry for any OOC-ness in this fic...I really don't think my Heero is in character, but it's too late to change that now ^_^;; Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is owned by a bunch of rich Japanese people, which I am definitely not :P

Mission Completed: 2001.12.29

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_AC 195 New Year's Eve_

Duo woke up and groaned, wishing he were still asleep as he felt wet sheets around him. He absently recalled hearing somewhere that when you dream of something you've been longing for, the dreams stop once you finally get what you want. In the week that had passed since he and Heero had slept together, however, he had found this statement to be entirely untrue. Not only did he continuing having dreams about Heero, but, because he actually had some experience now, the dreams were more detailed and realistic than they had ever been before.

Duo couldn't help but smile as he recalled the dream he had just woken up from: he and Heero had been on a mission and they needed to steal a car in order to get to their next target. The first vehicle they came across was an ice cream truck, so the two of them hopped inside and began heading towards their destination. Soon after they started out, however, the truck broke down. At that point in the dream, Duo suggested the two of them go to the back of the truck and have some ice cream, as he didn't want it to go to waste. Despite the fact that the refrigeration unit was still working and there was no real risk of the ice cream melting, that didn't really matter in dream logic, so the two of them retreated to the back of the truck. They began eating ice cream, and after a while Heero asked if he could try some of Duo's ice cream. By this, he meant tasting it off of Duo's lips, so of course they began kissing each other passionately, which of course led to wild sex in the back of the ice cream truck. It was even wilder than Duo's usual dreams, and things got pretty kinky when they started rubbing ice cream all over each other's bodies and licking it off...Duo could tell that the wetness of his sheets was definitely not from sweat.

Duo pulled himself from the bed and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. He'd been trying his best, but suppressing his feelings for Heero was a lot harder than he had originally thought it would be. It had been especially trying due to the fact that he and Heero seemed to keep running into each other. Even worse, Relena was with Heero every time they met, so of course jealousy would always rear its ugly head. He knew Heero didn't have any romantic feelings for her, and in fact found her even more irritating than Duo himself did, but he still couldn't help but be envious whenever he saw her hanging off his arm. Duo could feel the tenseness in his muscles as he stepped into the shower and turned on the water. It didn't surprise him, considering he felt like he had been on edge constantly for the entire last week. _Maybe I should go down to the pool after this and work out my frustrations,_ Duo thought. Perhaps some physical exertion through swimming would get his mind off the "other" ways he would like to physically exert himself with a certain suicidal Gundam pilot.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Heero felt like he had been to Hell and back several times over since Christmas. He hadn't thought it was humanly possible for Relena to be any more annoying and needy than she already was, but during the past week, she'd seemed determined to prove that theory wrong. Not only did she magically show up everywhere he went, but she was also now more willing to touch and fawn over him in public. She no longer seemed to care where they were or who was watching; anytime was an appropriate time to hang all over him and giggle stupidly at anything and everything he said. Nothing he said or did to get her to stop seemed to get through to her. If he told her to stop touching him, she just figured it was because he was shy about showing his feelings in public. If he said he hated her, she would laugh it off and say that boys often try to hide their emotions by saying the exact opposite of what they really feel. If he pulled away from her, she thought it meant that he loved her touching him so much that he couldn't control himself. Well, she was partially right about not being able to control himself, but that meant he was finding it more and more difficult to restrain himself from publicly strangling her. Heero could hardly believe that it was possible for anyone to be so wrapped up in their own little fantasy world that ignorance to reality was what kept them going through life.

Heero also found Relena to be a major distraction to his ponderings of Duo. He found it's really hard to figure out what's going on inside someone's head when you have to constantly concentrate on not killing another person. After a week of trying to figure Duo out, Heero had so far only been able to get that he was afraid of something. What that something was, though, he still had no idea. Was it rejection? Commitment? Intimacy? (Heero doubted that). He wanted to know why Duo was afraid of having a relationship with him because he wanted to try to help Duo get over his fear. Heero had come to the realization that he really wanted things to work out between them, no matter how difficult it may be.

When Heero heard the all-too-familiar knock of Relena on his door, he groaned. Did Relena somehow know when he was thinking about Duo and therefore needed to come and intrude on his thoughts every time without fail? "What do you want?" Heero yelled in an annoyed fashion (not that Relena would notice, anyway).

"May I come in?"

"What do you want?" Heero repeated. He always made it a point never to allow her into his room, as he had no idea what she might try to do if she ever got him alone.

Relena had grown used to asking Heero to do things through the door, so she continued without a second thought. "I was wondering if you'd like to come swimming with me at the resort pool. It's supposed to be one of the best indoor pools in all of the colonies."

Heero sighed. He was really sick of Relena, but he knew if he refused, she'd whine until he finally gave in. "Fine." He was sure he could swim faster than she could, so at least he would be able to get away from her if she tried to get too affectionate, which she almost certainly would.

"Great! I'll be back in fifteen minutes." With that, she scurried off, thinking naughty thoughts about Heero in a swimsuit, he was sure. He pulled the swimming trunks he had bought on his shopping trip with Relena out of the drawer and slipped them on. Well, at least he could get some exercise. Even though he no longer had missions to train for, he would still prefer to keep his body in shape. Because of Relena, he hadn't really had any opportunities to exercise during the past week. Heero realized with a slight blush that the last time he had done anything really physical was when he'd had sex with Duo. He had enjoyed his recent exercise quite much, but unless Duo could get over whatever he was afraid of, he may never get to enjoy it again.

Fifteen minutes later, Relena appeared at Heero's door again, clad in what he was sure she thought was a bikini that made her irresistibly sexy to him. Relena hadn't yet realized that the only way she could accomplish that would be if she transformed herself into Duo. "How do I look, Heero?"

"Hn," was all Heero said in reply, which Relena interpreted as, "You look absolutely stunning, my darling, and you are so beautiful that I wish to kiss you right now, but I won't because I am so painfully shy."

Relena smiled. "You're so nice, Heero!" she squealed, taking his arm. Heero had no idea how his uninterested grunt had made her so happy, then figured it must be one of her usual delusions at work again.

The two of them rode down to the ground level of the resort and walked through the lobby. Many people stared at the two, as they were wearing nothing more than swimsuits when it was cold enough to snow outside. Heero had no problem dealing with the chilly air floating into the lobby as people entered and exited the building, but Relena was shivering, as, in her vain attempt to flaunt her body for Heero, she had decided not to wear a cover-up. Heero chuckled at her plight. _Serves her right,_ he thought. _Maybe this will teach her to use her head for practical purposes, rather than just cooking up futile efforts to attract me._ Unfortunately, Relena figured the solution to warming up was to snuggle closer to Heero as they walked. Heero considered telling her that he had a horrible, highly contagious rash on his arm, or that his arm was broken, but decided against it, as she would probably use that as an excuse to rub medication all over his body.

Heero quickened his pace so they would reach the pool sooner. Even though he didn't believe in God, he prayed to whatever entity may be listening that there would be someone else at the pool, as he didn't want to face being alone with Relena, especially not at a pool, of all places. When he opened the door that led to the pool, his eyes were greeted by the most beautiful sight he had seen all week: Duo, clad in swimming trunks, his body glistening with moisture, doing a perfect swan dive off of the high diving board. Not only was he glad that he wouldn't have to be alone with Relena, but also he knew Duo wouldn't tolerate her flirting with Heero, and would do his best to help keep her away from him.

Duo surfaced and smiled at Heero. "Hey, Heero! Good to see you!" He looked at Relena and his smile disappeared, but he managed to force a phony one back onto his face. "Oh, and you too, Missy. My, you two seem to be going everywhere together lately." Heero couldn't help notice both the mocking and jealous undertones of Duo's statement.

Relena squeezed Heero's arm tighter, causing him to lose feeling in his fingers. "Well, that's what happy couples do," Relena said in a slightly condescending tone. She still thought Duo had a crush on her, so she wanted to make it very clear that she and Heero were happy together. "My, this certainly is an elaborate swimming area," Relena said looking around.

"Sure is," Duo agreed. The building contained a wave pool, a lap pool, a kid's pool, several hot tubs, and two gigantic waterslides splashing down into the main pool that Duo was currently in. It was more like a water park than just a simple resort pool. As it was New Year's Eve and most people had other things to do, they were the only three there. Heero was pleased at the vastness of the place, as it gave him several places in which he could hide from Relena. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in!"

Heero didn't hesitate and jumped into the pool, landing near Duo. Relena gingerly dipped a toe in the water and grimaced. "Ooh, that feels a bit chilly." She got down on her knees and inspected the water closely. "I'm not sure if this pool is cleaned very well. I can see a rubber band on the bottom! Maybe you should get out, Heero...Heero?" Relena looked around. Heero was nowhere to be seen. "Heero, where did you go? Hee~~~eeerroooo!"

In the wave pool, Heero and Duo, who had been snickering moments before, covered their ears at Relena's shrieking. While she had been carefully scrutinizing the water, the two of them had gotten out of the main pool and slipped quietly into the wave pool. "Man, that has got to be the most annoying sound ever!" Duo said, uncovering his ears, only to wish he hadn't as Relena let out another piercing yell.

"Tell me about it..." Heero muttered. He'd had to endure that sound every time he tried to get even a second to himself during the past week. Suddenly, the two of them realized that the shrieking was coming closer. They both ducked under the water, hoping Relena wouldn't see them. When they came up for air, however, they saw her standing at the edge of the wave pool.

"Oh, Heero, I was so worried!" Heero and Duo rolled their eyes in unison. "I've been looking all over for you. Didn't you hear me calling out for you?"

"No," Heero lied easily. "I was under water."

"The whole time? I've been looking for you for five minutes."

"I can hold my breath for a really long time."

"Oh," Relena said, believing every word he said. Duo shook his head. How could someone so naïve get so much power? He seriously hoped she wouldn't receive a high-ranking government position after the war simply because of her (rather useless) role as Queen of the World during it.

At that moment, the door to the building opened and three very familiar faces entered. Duo grinned and waved. "Trowa! Quatre! Wufei! Fancy meeting you here."

Quatre smiled. "Trowa and I were bored and decided to go for a swim. Then we bumped into Wufei in the hall and asked if he wanted to come, too." Quatre sat down in a nearby lounge chair. "So, how have you guys been doing lately? It's been a few days since we last saw you."

"Oh, we've been really busy," Duo said, beginning to get out of the water. He gave Heero a look and Heero followed his lead. "Me and Heero and Relena have been doing all sorts of fun things together, and I'm sure Relena would love to tell you all about it while Heero and I go check out the waterslides. C'mon!" Duo grabbed Heero's hand and ran off towards the other side of the building.

"Heero!" Relena yelled after them. "Heeeerooo!" The three Gundam boys standing near her barely resisted the urge to clamp their hands over their ears. Relena sighed. "Heero's always trying to get away from me. He's so shy!" The other three raised their eyebrows dubiously, as they seriously doubted shyness was the reason for Heero's flight. "It reminds me of our date the other day, when he..." The three boys began tuning her out at this point, hoping her story wouldn't be as long-winded as usual. After all, they had come to the pool to relax, not listen to Relena interpret everything Heero did in her own way to make it seem like he was in love with her.

Across the room, Heero and Duo reached the stairs leading up to the waterslides. "Good, at least there's something else to distract her for now," Duo said, his breathing a bit labored from their running. Duo noticed that Heero was giving him an amused look. "What is it, Heero?" Duo looked down and realized that he was still holding Heero's hand. "Oh, sorry!" Duo blushed and let go.

"There's no need to apologize for that," Heero said softly.

Duo shivered slightly, as the tone Heero was using reminded him of how he'd spoken to him the night they slept together. After he processed that, Heero's words finally registered in his mind. _No need to apologize? Could that mean...?_ Duo's thoughts were racing, but all he managed to do in reply was to sputter in a nonsensical manner. "I, uh...juh, wha?"

Before Heero could reply, Wufei came running up to where they were. "I thought I'd never escape that damn woman's rambling!" Heero and Duo nodded knowingly. Wufei gave them a curious look. "Why are you guys just standing here? I thought you were going to try out the slides."

"Uh, yeah, we sure are! Let's go!" Duo began running up the stairs, still wondering about what Heero had said to him.

The boys spent most of the afternoon just having fun in the pool. Relena had decided the water was unfit for her to swim in and spent a lot of her time chasing Heero, who seemed to keep "mysteriously" disappearing. She figured Heero must have bad hearing, because he never heard her yells, no matter how loud she tried to be. Eventually, Relena gave up her pursuit and decided to just sit in a lounge chair, doing what she believed were sexy poses every time Heero passed by.

Now was one such time, as Heero and Duo were standing right in front of her, though their backs were turned to her. Relena continued her pose, hoping Heero would turn around. She watched as Duo whispered something in Heero's ear. Heero turned his head and looked at her briefly, then faced Duo again, giving him a smile and a nod. _What was that about?_ Relena wondered. _Oh, Duo must have just told Heero that he's given up his pursuit of me! How wonderful! Now I can just concentrate on having one suitor..._ Suddenly, she noticed that Heero and Duo were jumping into the air.

"Double cannonball!" Duo yelled. As he and Heero splashed down into the pool, Relena was soaked from head to toe. The two of them surfaced, Duo turning to Relena in mock surprise. "Oh, Missy, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize there would be so much splash back!" Duo turned around, trying to contain his snickering. Heero and the other three pilots were stifling back laughter as well. Quatre tried to give Heero and Duo a disapproving look, but he couldn't keep a straight face; even _he_ was getting sick of trying to be nice to Relena.

Relena grabbed a towel and glared at the back of Duo's head. She was sure he had done that on purpose! He was jealous that he couldn't have her, and so he not only tried to splash her, but tricked Heero into doing it, as well! _Heero will punish him for me, yeah, he'll show him..._ Relena convinced herself. She looked back at the boys in the pool and noticed Heero wasn't making any effort to scold Duo. _He'll do it later, yeah, that's it...after all, he doesn't want to start a fight in front of a lady. How thoughtful!_ Relena continued swooning over Heero in her mind as the boys made other plans.

"Hey, how about we have a chicken fight?" Duo suggested. The others agreed and began working out teams. Since there were five of them, they would have to take turns with different partners. Heero and Duo decided to pair with each other first. "So, Heero, do you want to get on top, or should I?" After a couple moments, a blush spread over Duo's face. _Oh god, I really should've asked that question a different way..._ He'd managed to not have any fantasies about Heero for the last couple hours, and now his mind was suddenly swamped with them again.

Heero was trying to suppress a blush, too. "I'll be on top," he said, adding mentally with a grin, _just like on that night..._

The boys began competing with each other, and through experimentation, found that Heero and Duo actually did better with Duo on top. After several rounds, the two best teams were found to be Duo-Heero and Wufei-Trowa. The two teams squared off in the pool, with Quatre being the referee. "You're going down, Wufei!" Duo growled in a pro-wrestler-like manner as he hoisted himself up on to Heero's shoulders.

Quatre brought his hand down into the water. "Begin!" The two teams rushed towards each other in the water. Just by looking at the teams, it seemed that Wufei and Trowa were destined to win, as they had both the height and weight advantage. However, Duo and Heero had better teamwork and managed to topple the other two with little effort.

"Yeah, woo hoo!" Duo shouted, falling backwards off Heero's shoulders into the water. He surfaced again and put an arm around Heero. "We're number one! Yeah!" He purposely kept his arm there for a while, seeing how Heero would react. Duo became frustrated as Heero did nothing to encourage him, nor made any effort to stop him. Was Heero just completely neutral to him?!

Quatre looked at a nearby clock. "Hey, everyone, we'd better get going soon. It's five o' clock already. Only two hours until the party starts." The five boys exited the pool and Relena got out of her chair. The six of them returned to their respective rooms to get ready for the New Year's Eve party.

As Duo closed the door to his room, he let out a frustrated noise. Heero was confusing him more than ever. Duo was trying to give up on his feelings for Heero, but it was extremely difficult when he had no idea how Heero felt about him. One minute he would act unusually nice to Duo, and the next moment he would completely ignore him. Duo felt like he didn't know how he should be acting around Heero. "Enough," Duo said aloud. "Enough of this. I'm tired of trying to act according to Heero's feelings when I don't even know what they are!" Duo realized he was yelling, and decided thinking out loud probably wasn't the best idea when he was feeling so emotional.

 _I have to find out tonight..._ Duo decided. _I'm going to ask him what he feels for me, and if I don't like his answer, I'm just going to have to deal with it._ Duo thought a bit longer and realized something with a sigh. _And I'm going to have to tell him how I feel about him, as well. It's just not healthy for me to keep my feelings in any longer,_ Duo thought, looking at his shaking hands. He began wondering about how he should bring the subject up with Heero. He suddenly remembered that they had been given the option of writing speeches to give that night and got an idea. _That's it! I know what I'll do._ Duo took a pen and a piece of paper from the drawer of the nightstand and began writing down his ideas. _This isn't going to be easy,_ he thought, _but it has to be done. And if I have to do it, I might as well do it with style..._

To be continued...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater!

Spazz: Hello again, y'all! Sorry this part was kind of pointless, but I decided I needed a break between the two parties. And I felt the need for more Relena bashing ^_^ *Looks at Chibi Duo* So, what have you guys been up to?

Chibi Duo: Shhh! *Whispers* Heero and Trowa are having a competition.

Spazz: A competition? *Looks at Chibi Heero and Chibi Trowa* It doesn't look like they're doing anything.

Chibi Duo: That's the point! Now sit down and shut up!

Spazz: *Sits down and shuts up...while pouting at the fact that Chibi Duo is being a meanie-poo*

Chibi Trowa: ...

Chibi Heero: ...

Chibi Trowa: ...!

Chibi Heero: ...!

Kuroneko: Meow. *Is thrown across room, getting knocked out in the process*

Chibi Trowa: ...?!

Chibi Heero: ...?!

Chibi Trowa: *Passes out*

Chibi Heero: Mission completed.

Chibi Duo: Yay, you won! *Glomps Chibi Heero...and begins doing other stuff I won't describe because I believe myself to be incapable of writing lemon*

Chibi Quatre: *Sees passed out Chibi Trowa...and does the same kinds of things I wouldn't describe in the previous line*

Chibi Wufei: *Sees passed out Kuroneko...and shoots Spazz with his Nataku for even considering it*

Spazz: *Bleeds heavily* Well, that's all for now. Whee, I'm feeling dizzy...


	7. Chapter 7

Author babble: The end is coming! The end is coming! No, wait, it's already here! I hope you all enjoyed this fic ^_^ In this final part, the song this fic was named for finally makes its appearance. The translation of it is an odd amalgamation of about three different people's translations, plus my own personal preference. If it's not completely accurate, oh well :P I like how the end result sounds ^_^ If you haven't heard the song, I highly recommend listening to it. Even if the full version is over eight minutes long, it's worth it ^_^

Disclaimer: These charactres, they be not mine. They doth belong to ye olde creators of Gundame Wyng.

Mission Completed: 2002.03.04

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Heero arrived at the ballroom about ten minutes before the New Year's Eve party was to begin. The room looked pretty much the same as it had for the Christmas party, the only difference being that most of the Christmas decorations were gone, including, Heero noted thankfully, the mistletoe. He had barely been able to escape Relena last time, and he was glad she wouldn't have any such opportunities tonight.

Heero looked around the room to see if any of the other pilots were there yet. He spotted Trowa and Quatre standing with a group of girls that had attended Relena's Absolute Pacifism classes. Quatre was chatting happily, and Trowa would occasionally nod or give monosyllabic answers whenever Quatre looked to him for comment. From the amount of time that they were spending together and the kinds of looks they gave each other, Heero couldn't help but wonder exactly how far their relationship had progressed.

Heero searched the room some more and this time saw Wufei. He was sitting at a table with Sally Po, looking quite uncomfortable at the fact that she practically sitting in his lap. Heero wondered why she seemed to be bobbling back and forth even though she was in a sitting position, and then he noticed she was holding some kind of drink in her hand. Heero was amazed at the fact that alcohol was being served even before the party started. It was still five hours until the new year; if people were getting drunk this early, they probably wouldn't even be conscious when the time came to ring in the year AC 196.

Finally, Heero managed to find the person who was the real reason he had been searching around in the first place. He spotted Duo standing near the stage, looking quite attractive in a snazzy suit. Then again, to Heero, Duo looked good in just about anything. Duo was talking to a man who appeared to be a stage technician. Heero wondered what they could be talking about and tried to read their lips. He discovered he had apparently only caught the tail end of their conversation, as he saw Duo say "thank you" and walk away.

Suddenly, the room became quiet and people began forming a pathway and speaking to each other in whispers. Heero cringed, as he knew that could only mean one thing: Relena had arrived. Heero began looking for some people he could hide behind. Of course, since Relena seemed to have a Heero Radar, it was only a matter of delaying the inevitable. Even so, Heero wanted to avoid her for as long as possible, and preferably find Duo again during his brief moments of freedom.

Scanning the room quickly, Heero found a potted plant that would sufficiently conceal him. He ducked down and cautiously peaked out from behind the palm fronds. Relena was sitting at a table with a crowd of people standing around her. Heero was sure most of them were vying for the honor of being her number one ass-kisser, which he was sure was an occurrence Relena usually relished in. Whenever there was the possibility that he might be around, however, Relena always managed to become oblivious to those around her and make it her goal to find him, this time being no exception. Her eyes passed near where he was crouched, but luckily he blended in well enough with the plant that from a distance Relena didn't notice him.

"Isn't this a bit demeaning for a great hero such as yourself?"

Heero jumped at the sound of a familiar joking voice.

Duo smiled. "Well, I guess I can understand. If she were after _me_ , I'd be hiding up in the chandeliers!"

Heero chuckled a bit, but at the same time, he was still surprised that he hadn't noticed Duo walk up. Before, he had always been able to sense when people came near him. _Only a week since the war ended and already the results of my years of training are slipping away,_ he thought bitterly. Without the skills gained from his training, he would soon be no better than an average, everyday citizen. Although he really wanted to be able to live among normal people, the actual process of becoming that way was disturbing to him.

As Heero watched Duo kneel down next to him on the floor, it occurred to him that Duo was acting differently than he had been for the past week. Before, he had blushed and stuttered almost every time he attempted conversation with Heero. Now, he was acting more like he had before they'd slept together; that is, he was more talkative, less shy, and gave Heero smiles that could best be described as flirtatious. He no longer looked afraid to be around Heero, which was a huge relief. Heero couldn't help but wonder what had brought about the sudden change in Duo's behavior.

"So, how long do you plan on hiding here?" Duo asked casually.

Heero looked across the room to see Relena searching the room with a rabid look in her eyes. "As long as possible."

Unfortunately, they both soon realized that "as long as possible" can sometimes be a very short time period indeed, as they spotted Lady Une ascending the steps to the stage. "Attention, everyone," she began, waiting for the room to quiet down before she continued. "It is now time for everyone to take their seats so that dinner can be served. This is going to be quite a busy evening, so we ask for your cooperation in helping things run smoothly. Thank you."

Duo smiled and stood up. "Well, I guess that's our cue." Duo stretched exquisitely upon standing up, seeming to taunt Heero with his body.

 _What is he trying to do to me?_ Heero wondered. In just a manner of hours, Duo had gone from becoming flustered just from being in the same room as Heero to giving him seductive looks and showing off his physique.

"Do you need help getting up?" Heero looked up and saw Duo holding his hand out to him. From anyone else, he would refuse the offer of help, but this was Duo, so Heero took his hand. Judging from the look that he was giving him, Duo had definitely taken notice of Heero's gawking. Duo gave him a quick smile, and then let go of his hand as the two of them began walking toward their table.

When they reached their destination, they found that the others were already there. "Oh, Heero, I was looking all over for you! Where have you been?" Relena said in her usual melodramatic way.

"I just got here." As he'd had an unfortunate amount of practice during the past week, Heero now found lying to Relena as natural as taking a breath of air.

"But I heard someone say they saw you..."

"Must have been someone else."

"Oh, okay." Heero shook his head. Relena's blind faith was a really disturbing trait for a person in such a high position of power.

After rolling his eyes at Relena's behavior, Duo suddenly noticed that there was an empty chair next to his. "Hey, Missy, why's there an extra chair here? Is Noin or Sally gonna join us?" Everyone took notice of the blush that spread across Wufei's face at the mention of Sally's name.

"Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. We're going to be joined by someone who has been wanting to see you."

"Really?" Duo said half-excitedly and half-warily, wondering who besides police officers and people he had ripped off could possibly want to meet with him. "Who is it?"

Before Relena could answer, a soft voice spoke from behind Duo's chair. "Hello everyone. Hi Duo..."

Duo turned around. "Hilde!" He stood up and hugged her in a friendly manner. "Hey, how ya been doing? Are you feeling better? How're your injuries?"

Hilde smiled gently. "I'm feeling much better now. My wounds are almost completely healed."

"Well, you look great," Duo said, winking as he examined her revealing dress. "Looks like you're gonna go wild after being cooped up in the hospital for so long and try to capture the heart of some lucky young man."

"Oh, Duo," Hilde said, blushing.

The two of them sat down and Relena had a smug look on her face. Now Duo would be distracted with his own girl and would no longer pursue her. Relena sighed happily. _Now the delicate flower of our love will have more room to blossom,_ she thought, her eyes roaming dreamily to Heero.

Heero, however, wasn't paying attention to Relena at all, but rather quietly trying to keep his jealousy in check. He knew Duo was just naturally a huge flirt, but he still didn't like seeing that kind of attention being given to anyone but himself.

Soon after Hilde arrived, dinner was brought around to the tables. Duo and Hilde caught up on what they had each been doing the past week—Duo omitting the part about him and Heero sleeping together, of course. Heero occasionally put in a word or two just to get Duo's attention, which Duo gladly gave, though he wasn't as flirtatious with him as he was with Hilde. Relena kept up her usual vain efforts to get Heero's attention, usually failing miserably, but she always managed to come up with suitable excuses for his behavior, so she was not deterred.

After the dinner plates were cleared from the table, it was announced that there was going to be a dance. Heero rarely looked frightened, but the look on his face as Relena dragged him out onto the dance floor the second the announcement was made was truly the look of a terrified man. Duo shook his head, feeling sorry for Heero, then went out to the dance floor himself with Hilde. Wufei was carefully weaving his way through the dance floor, trying to pretend he didn't hear the calls of the drunken Sally pursuing him. Trowa and Quatre were nowhere in sight, though when Duo looked carefully, he could swear he saw the movement of brown and blond hair up in one of the balconies.

Duo turned his attention back to Hilde, who was smiling dreamily at him. He knew she had a crush on him, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings by just telling her straight to her face why they couldn't be together. Well, Duo knew that Hilde was a lot more perceptive than Relena, and hoped that later tonight when he gave his speech she would come to understand that things just weren't meant to be between the two of them.

Duo glanced over Hilde's shoulder to Heero, who looked absolutely miserable with Relena draped all over him. He couldn't stand to see Heero suffering like that, so he subtly danced his way closer to two of them and tapped Heero on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but may I cut in and have a dance with this lovely young lady?"

Relena shot him the deadliest glare he had ever seen, while Heero had a look of utter relief on his face. "Certainly."

The couples switched so Duo was dancing with Relena and Heero was dancing with Hilde. Hilde smiled at Heero. "Well, even though I've heard a lot about you, this is the first time we've had a chance to talk, right?" Heero nodded silently, causing Hilde to giggle slightly. "You're just like Duo said you were, always so quiet and serious." Heero said nothing again, causing Hilde to sweatdrop a little. After looking a bit hesitant for a moment, Hilde's face adopted a more serious look. "Say, Heero, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

Hilde looked slightly surprised at actually getting a verbal response out of him, then continued haltingly. "Well...umm, this is kind of embarrassing, but I was wondering i-if you know anything about...how Duo feels...a-about me."

Maybe some of Duo's compassion had rubbed off on him, because Heero realized that he would feel bad if he just came right out and said that Duo only thought of her as a friend. Maybe if she came to the realization herself, it wouldn't be so painful. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, because I really...like Duo, but I don't know if he likes me back..." Hilde blushed a bit. "I know he flirts with me and stuff, but I've seen him act that way with lots of people. Even when he's joking and laughing and stuff, he still seems...just distant, like there's something—or some _one_ —else on his mind..." Heero began wishing that it was Hilde instead of Relena who had a crush on him, as Hilde actually seemed to be in tune with reality. "I was just hoping that, since you're his best friend, maybe he would have told you something..."

"I can't say I know what he's thinking, either," Heero began, thinking about Duo's erratic behavior as of late, "but I think he'll make things clear soon." Heero could tell that Duo was up to something, and he had a feeling that it involved clearing things up about their relationship.

Meanwhile, a scowling Relena danced with a likewise irritated Duo. Relena was giving him highly suspicious glares every time he made even the slightest bit of movement. With daggers of ice in her gaze, she hissed, "I know what you're trying to do, and I'll tell you right now that it's not going to work!"

Duo gave her a hopelessly confused look. "What are you—"

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" she said, cutting him off. "Trying to steal me away from your best friend, and right in front of your girlfriend, no less!"

"Steal...girlfriend...wha?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Heero told me about how you want to have me all to yourself. Well, it isn't going to work! My heart belongs to Heero and Heero alone!"

 _Heero told her that?_ Duo wondered. _Why would he do that?_ Duo then figured it all must be part of an elaborate scheme to drive Relena insane and decided to play along. He gave Relena a flirtatious grin and brought one of her gloved hands up to his mouth. "Are you sure I can't persuade you otherwise?" He kissed her hand, causing her to shriek.

"Heero! Heeeeeroooo!" Relena squeaked. "Help meeee!"

Heero stopped dancing with Hilde and walked over, rolling his eyes. Relena hid behind him as soon as he arrived. "What is it?"

"Get...him...AWAY...from me," Relena said through clenched teeth.

Heero looked at Duo and smirked. "With pleasure." With that, Heero took Duo in his arms and began dancing with him. Everyone looked completely shocked for a moment, especially Duo, Heero noted with an amused look. After the shock left his face, Duo smiled sweetly at Heero and put his arms around him.

Hilde had thought the display was a joke and laughed at first, but then she noticed that the two of them were holding onto each other a few moments longer than was necessary for a simple joke. The two of them also seemed quite comfortable holding each other intimately, and the look on Duo's face was one of pure joy and contentment.

The two of them didn't dance very long, as Duo broke the embrace, laughing. "You're such a jokester, Heero." He patted Heero on the shoulder. "Whaddya say we go sit down for a while?" The four of them headed back to their table, Relena now noticeably trying to avoid Duo at all costs.

As the dance went on, nothing overtly unusual happened. Heero spent the bulk of his time running away from Relena, trying to hang around Duo as much as possible, as Relena was now deathly afraid of him. Unfortunately, this didn't always work, because Duo was often found dancing with one of the girls who had begun to form a crowd around him. Even in her drunken state, Sally managed to catch Wufei a couple times, then proceeded to stumble around in a manner that she believed qualified as dancing. One of those times, Wufei and Duo had managed to switch places mid-dance without Sally even noticing until the song was over. Trowa and Quatre reappeared after a while, looking quite happy together.

After a couple of hours, Lady Une appeared on the stage again to announce that the dance was over and the guest speakers would begin giving their presentations soon. She ended by saying that the Gundam pilots would be making their speeches after all of the other speakers were done with theirs, and that Relena would follow with her own New Year's message.

The first speeches, much like the ones at the Christmas party, were mostly by big-name politicians whom Duo didn't really care to hear from, and was sure he recognized from pictures in some of the mansions he had stolen from when he was younger. After the last of them left the stage, it was finally time for the Gundam boys to make their own speeches.

Quatre went up to the stage first. His speech was mostly about the importance of maintaining their newfound peace, saying that it could be achieved through understanding and forgiveness of past mistakes. He got a bit choked up when he started talking about the personal effects the war had had on him, such as his father's death and how the grief from that event had caused him to do things he would never do normally. "I fought because I felt I had to," he said in closing, "and now I hope that I will never feel the need to so again. Thank you." The audience clapped as he left the stage.

Duo nervously stood up. Trowa, Wufei, and Heero had said that they wouldn't be making speeches, so now it was time for him to go up and lay his emotions bare. Duo stepped up to the podium, nervously clearing his throat. "'What have I learned the past year?' That's the question I asked myself when I heard I could write a speech to give to all of you tonight. At first, I could only think of things like new battle techniques and weapons, because that's all I believed I'd been dealing with for the past several months. But then, on the night the war ended, I found myself dealing with something completely different. I've always been someone who goes with my feelings, and this case was no exception. I found that my relationship with someone close to me was changing, and, even though it was changing in a way I liked, I became terrified. I was worried because I was confused as to whether the other person was happy with what our relationship was turning into. The best thing to do would have been to just ask them about it, but instead, I did the stupidest thing I've ever done: I ran away. I was just so scared that I might ruin everything by revealing my true feelings. I realize now that not being true to my feelings is what really almost messed everything up.

"So, what's my point in saying all this? Through all the hardships and fighting we've gone through in life, the fact remains that what's most important is the people around us, those we call our friends, family...even lovers." Duo paused for a minute, taking a deep breath before continuing. "So, I guess the best piece of advice I have for all of you going into the new year is to let the people closest to you be aware of your feelings. If you keep everything inside, then you'll miss out on a lot of wonderful things. If you're worried about the consequences, think about this: if you're unhappy with the way things are, and you'll be unhappy having your heart broken, what have you got to lose? If someone doesn't accept your feelings for what they are, you have to move on as best you can. But if they _do_ accept you, then you've gained so much. So go out there and take that chance before it's too late...I sure hope it's not too late for me..." As Duo finished speaking, delicate piano music began playing in the background. After the song's intro finished, Duo began to sing.

I can't keep walking by myself anymore  
The winds of time are far too strong.  
Ah, the hurt and the pain;  
I should have been used to them, but now... 

Ah, embrace my tear-soaked heart just like this.  
In these forever changing times,  
If there is unchanging love  
Will you hold my heart?  
Capture all my tears.  
It seems it's already broken  
All my heart. 

Heero stared up at the stage in wonder. Duo had made it clear to him during his speech why he'd had trouble telling Heero his true feelings, and now Heero was feeling overwhelmed with emotion as Duo poured his love into every note.

Forever Love Forever Dream  
Only these overflowing emotions  
Can violently, painfully bury time.  
Oh, tell me why. 

All I see is blue in my heart  
Will you stay with me?  
Until the winds have passed by.  
Again, they're overflowing  
All my tears. 

Forever Love Forever Dream  
Stay with me just like this.  
In the dawn, embrace my trembling heart.  
Oh, stay with me. 

Heero could feel Duo's eyes staring directly into his own as he said that last line. _He loves me. He wants to be with me._ Just thinking about these things made Heero's mind feel numb. Even though he had previously assumed that Duo loved him, it made his heart flutter to have Duo actually looking at him and saying those words at the same time. As the musical interlude ended, Duo continued to gaze at Heero as he began to sing again.

Ah, it'd be best if everything would end  
In this never-ending night.  
Ah, what I have lost  
Is nothing; there's only you. 

Forever Love Forever Dream  
Stay with me just like this  
In the dawn, embrace my trembling heart. 

Ah, will you stay with me?  
Until the winds have passed by  
More than anyone, stay with me. 

Hilde had been watching Duo with amazement the entire time he had been on stage. She had seen Duo become extremely emotional before, but it was nothing like this. The pure love and adoration he was showing was something she had never seen before...which only confirmed her suspicions that those emotions were not meant for her. Looking at Duo's face, she saw the same expression he had been giving Heero earlier. She let out a jagged sigh as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. She looked as his expression again, finding herself smiling at how sweet he looked. _He knows what he wants, and it's not me. I want him to be happy, so I have to let him go..._

Forever Love Forever Dream  
I can't keep on walking like this  
Oh, tell me why. Oh, tell me true  
Tell me the meaning of living. 

Duo thought briefly of the irony of asking someone who had tried to kill himself several times what the meaning of his own life was. He felt the tears that had been stinging his eyes through the entire song threatening to overflow.

Forever Love Forever Dream  
Until the shining seasons change into eternity  
Amidst the tears.  
Forever Love. 

As the song ended, Duo stood on the stage quietly, wiping tears from his eyes. "Thank you." As Duo reached his seat after the applause died down, he noticed that Heero wasn't in his chair. He turned around and realized that Heero had gone up to the stage. _Heero is actually voluntarily doing a public speech? What could he be up to?_ Duo wondered briefly if somehow his public declaration of love had caused Heero to go insane.

Heero, in the meantime, was trying to lock eyes with Duo, hoping to get a message across to him during his speech. Once he saw Duo knew what was going on, he began. "A long time ago, someone told me that I should always follow my emotions. Until now, I only applied that advice to the battlefield." Heero paused to make sure he really had Duo's attention before he continued. "I now know that I need to apply that to my relationships with people, and I hope you will all _join me…_ " Heero let his gaze flicker up to the balcony for a fraction of a second "…in doing the same." With that, he left the stage, leaving many people wondering why his speech had been so short.

Duo, of course, knew that the whole purpose of his speech was to tell Duo to meet him in the balcony. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Heero's method of conveying his message. A normal person would have just whispered it to him, but, as Duo had told him before, Heero wasn't a normal human being. He suddenly noticed that Heero was leaving the room instead of going back to his seat. _He wants to do this_ now _?_ Duo wondered why Heero wasn't waiting until the party ended, and realized that Relena was now on the stage and, as the room was dark, she hadn't noticed Heero leaving. _That Heero, always thinking of ways to avoid being detected by Relena..._ He chuckled a bit, then realized he shouldn't keep Heero waiting too long.

He excused himself by telling Hilde he was going to the bathroom, to which she replied with a sad smile and a nod. Duo looked puzzled, as the look she gave him was one of understanding and defeat, like she knew what was going on and was giving him permission to go. Duo decided not to dwell on it, as he had more important things to worry about.

 _This is it,_ Duo thought as he climbed the stairs leading up to the balcony level. _The moment of truth has arrived._ Duo started thinking about how he wanted to tell Heero he loved him for the first time. He wanted the moment to be sweet and perfect, with gentle kisses and soft embraces.

Duo reached the top of the steps and saw Heero standing in the balcony, the curtain behind him drawn to block the view from the ballroom. He felt a lump forming in his throat as he stared at Heero and saw the same soft look he'd seen in Heero's eyes the night they had made love. "Oh, Heero, I love you!" Duo blurted out, rushing forward and clinging to Heero, burying his sobbing face in his neck. _So much for my perfect moment,_ Duo thought wryly.

For Heero, however, the moment couldn't get any better. The boy he'd been in love with for months had finally confessed his feelings directly to him, and now the two of them were locked in a warm embrace, Heero gently stroking Duo's long, silky hair. When Duo's tears subsided to the point of almost stopping, Heero tilted Duo's chin up and kissed him softly on the lips. The gesture sent shivers through both of them and they sustained the kiss until it became too intense for either one to handle. "Duo..." Heero said softly, licking his lips to get the taste of Duo once again. "I...I also...I feel the same way."

Duo felt a grin spread across his face and hugged Heero tightly. He would have liked it better if Heero actually said the words 'I love you' to him, but he knew that Heero had only recently begun dealing with any emotions at all, and it was still hard for him to express even simple emotions, let alone love. _He'll say it when he's ready,_ Duo thought.

The two of them noticed that a large amount of noise was coming from the ballroom and peeked through the curtain to see what the commotion was about. They saw there was now a large TV screen on the stage, and everyone in the room was counting down the final minute of the year AC 195. Well, almost everyone: Relena, of course, was searching around for Heero; Trowa was standing with his arm around Quatre; a drunken Noin was dancing with an invisible partner; and Hilde and Wufei were sitting at the table, where they were, to Duo's surprise, chatting and laughing together. "Am I that easy to get over?" Duo said pouting, causing Heero to chuckle.

"I'm more surprised that Wufei's voluntarily conversing with a woman." At that point, the countdown of the final ten seconds began, Duo counting along with everyone else.

"...Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...Happy New Year!" Duo grinned and wrapped his arms around Heero. His grin suddenly became a bit more lecherous. "You know, Heero, it's tradition to…mmm!" Before Duo could finish his sentence, Heero's lips were on his. Duo delighted in the fact that this kiss was much more passionate than the last, their tongues wrestling with each other as their hands explored each other's bodies. They finally broke the kiss and buried themselves deeper into each other's arms, just enjoying one another's company. After several long moments, Duo brought his face up from Heero's shoulder. "Say, Heero?"

"What?"

"Since you and I are starting the New Year together, why don't we also start a new life together?"

Heero looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

"I'm suggesting that you and I go to our rooms right now, get our stuff, and get out of here." Duo smiled at Heero. "It'd be a great chance to get away from Relena." Heero still had an odd look on his face, dampening Duo's hopes. "If you don't want to, then we don't have to..."

"No, Duo, I _do_ want to," Heero said, holding Duo's shoulders. "I was just surprised that you'd want to leave without telling anyone."

"Oh, we'll tell them eventually," Duo said. "I was just thinking it'd be nice if we had some time alone together, just the two of us, without any chance of being interrupted by people we know. Don't you think it sounds good?"

"Yeah," Heero said with a soft smile. "Yeah, I do. Let's go."

With that, the two of them went back to their rooms, gathered up their things, and left the resort. "So, where do you want to go?" Heero asked as the two of them stepped out into the snow.

"Another colony, the Earth, the moon...it doesn't really matter, as long as we're together." Duo gave Heero the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. At that moment, Heero decided to allow his emotions to speak for him for the first time.

"I love you, Duo," Heero whispered softly.

Duo looked surprised, then a grin spread across his face. "I love you, too." He hugged Heero as the taxi they had called for from Heero's room pulled up to the curb. They climbed into the vehicle hand in hand and rode off to discover their new future together.

_Forever Love Forever Dream_  
_Stay with me just like this._  
_In the dawn, embrace my trembling heart._  
_Oh, stay with me._

**The End**

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Spazz's Omake Theater

Spazz: *Pops open some of that non-alcoholic champagne Quatre mentioned in the final episode* Whoopee! It's finally done! The fic that I first thought of nearly three years ago is finally done! Man, it's been a long and crazy ride. This thing was only supposed to be about four parts, but it somehow stretched itself into seven...oh, well. Man, I've been watching too much Trigun...I so felt like writing something like, "The ticket to the future is always blank!" near the end ^_^ Oh, and Trowa ended up not having any lines in this fic ^_^;; Sorry, but I just had to focus on my two favorite G-Boys as much as possible. And those who were looking for some Hilde bashing, sorry, but I don't hate her, just Relena ^_^;; But anyway, despite the fact that I'm pretty satisfied with this fic, I still think it's lacking something...

Chibi Duo: Realistic characterization? Believable plot? An ending not so incredibly sappy you could make maple syrup out of it?

Spazz: NO! *Bops Chibi Duo with champagne bottle* I meant that, despite all the Relena bashing, there was no Relena death!

Chibi Duo: Oh. *Rubs his head* Well, you can still kill off Chibi Relena, right?

Spazz: Of course! Thanks, Chibi Duo! *Squeezes him hard...really more for punishment than as a gesture of gratitude*

Chibi Relena: *Appears*

Spazz: Boo, boo! Okay, so how shall we kill her?

Chibi Heero: *Enters carrying Poke ball* Yo.

Spazz: Hey, Heero, whatcha got there?

Chibi Heero: *Throws Poke ball, unleashing a Pokemon which looks like Pikachu, except for the fact it appears to be made of Gundanium* It's Jibaku. (Translation: self-destruct)

Jibaku: Jibaku ji!

Spazz: What does it do?

Chibi Heero: ...what do you think it does? Read the translation, stupid...

Spazz: *Pouts* You Chibi G-Boys are really mean...*Stops pouting when she thinks of a way to kill Relena* Hey, Heero, have your Pokemon attack Relena, okay?

Chibi Heero: Right. Jibaku, go!

Jibaku: Jiba! *Lands in Relena's arms*

Chibi Relena: Oh, you're so cute! *Tortures Jibaku ala the ending theme song*

Jibaku: *Frightened* Jibaa~~aa! Jibakuuuu!

Chibi Heero: Jibaku, "Jibaku" now!

Jibaku: Jibaku! *Does as its name implies o_O;;*

Chibi Relena: *Explodes*

Spazz: Yay! This fic is finally complete! Well, that's all from me for now, folks! It's 3 AM and I have class at 11:30...If you're wondering about my future projects, I plan to do a couple Trigun fics, so stay tuned.


End file.
